The Deal
by Professor Majora
Summary: "A different form, a different time..." There is an ancient ritual that only a few knows about: a one-time use that allows any criminal to do what is otherwise considered close to impossible: coming back to life. However, they will not be the same as before. So, what happens when a Dream Demon becomes one with a certain Jinchuuriki? Godlike/Dark!Naruto
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello there, Prof. Majora here. I have decided to publish this new story. I have had quite a few ideas recently, outside my Dementor Representative story, and I wanted to post some of them for your reading pleasure. I am, like many others, a huge fan of Gravity Falls. And after being on my fanfiction idea kick: I had this idea in my mind, and I couldn't get it out.**_

 _ **One of the best parts of Gravity Falls, if not THE best parts, is the multitude of awesome characters. They are just so magnificent and charming. However, the one to focus on today is the villain Bill Cipher. One thing about me is that I am a HUGE fan of Eldritch and psychopathic villains; and Bill Cipher just hits all the right notes. So, I had an idea that essentially brings him into the Naruto universe. This is not the first story to do so, but I have not seen it been done in this way yet, so I wanted to give it a try.  
**_

 _ **Also, before reading this story, you should know that**_ ** _this story will contain a darker!Naruto, so expect him to be OOC from the original. Alongisde that, he will also be Beyond Godlike. There also be some other clichés such as Konoha Bashing, Council Bashing, Sasuke Bashing, and some other characters will be bashed as the story develops. There will most likely be more clichés as the story goes on, but I cannot say for sure.  
_**

 ** _Other disclaimers Swearing, Lots of Gore, as is fitting of Dark Naruto._**

 ** _There will also most likely Lemons/Limes, though I am not sure what to do with the pairing of this story. I am considering making this a harem story, but it could also be a single-pairing story. The future will tell._**

 ** _Without furher ado, let's get going:_**

"Speech"

 _'Thought'_

 **"Demon Speech"/Jutsu or Technique  
**

 _ **'Demon Thought'**_

 ** _ACTUALLY, one more thing:_**

 ** _SPOILER ALERT! This chapter contains spoilsers from the FINAL EPISODE of the Gravity Falls. I just wanted you to know if you haven't seen it, then you should probably stop reading now, and come back once you have seen it._**

 ** _If you have seen the final episode, or just don't care, then feel free to read on. Just be aware that I am spoiling the conclusion of the whole show in this chapter._**

 ** _Now, please enjoy:_**

 **The Deal**

Chapter 1

The whole pyramid seemed to tremble as loud steps echoed through the opening. The interior design of the pyramid, which consisted of multi-coloured tiles, was shaking, and even the banners that consisted of their friends were briefly stirring by the commotion. Stanley and Stanford Pines were staring at the only opening that their grand-niece & nephew had run into in order to escape the triangular demon. They had prayed that they would somehow escape that same psychopathic monstrosity, but their hopes were shattered when the giant form of Bill Cipher squeezed himself through the opening. His one eye was glaring at Stanley and Stanford, as he stood up in front of the cage where the two brothers were imprisoned.

"Alright Ford, time's up!" Bill declared loudly as he held up the two twins, Dipper and Mabel. They were struggling to get out of his massive hand, but with no luck. Stanford and Stanley were horrified by the sight.

 _'_ _No, not the kids'_ , both brothers thought to themselves, their faces frozen in terror for what this demon might do to them.

"I've got the kids! I think I'm gonna kill one of them now, just for the heck of it", Bill's voice echoed through the Pyramid, as he brought the twins closer to his one giant eye, his slit pupil completely focused on them. His pupil then shifted shapes between a pine tree and a shooting star everytime he blinked, which in turn was glowing an ominous red light on the struggling children. Bill was counting down who was going to die, as his voice was echoing and becoming more sinister.

"Eeny, meeny, **miny, YOU** ** _-_** "

"WAIT", Stanford shouted, stopping Bill just as he was about to snap his fingers, thus killing one of the children. His pupil changed back to a slit, as it instead focused on the man who held the answers Bill needed in order to take Weirdmageddon global. "I surrender", Stanford continued with a defeated tone.

"Good choice", was Bill Cipher's simple response, before he dropped the kids. The children groaned in pain upon impacting with the stony floor of the pyramid.

"Don't do it, Ford! It will destroy the universe", Stanley shouted as he grabbed his twin brother's tan coat by the collar, and shook him in rage.

"It's the only way", Stanford responded angrily as he grabbed onto Stanley's hands, trying to pry them off his coat. In the meantime, Bill shrunk himself down to his original size, as he was laughing to himself, amused by the twin brothers fighting in front of his eyes.

"Oh, even when you are about to die, you Pine Twins just can't get along", Bill mused before he snapped his fingers, as blue flames surrounded his hand. Once he snapped his fingers, the blue pyramid-shaped prison that had kept the twins captive opened up at the top, then sunk into the floor and disappeared as if it had never existed. Right afterwards, red vines appeared out of the ground, and wrapped themselves around Stanley, before forcing him down on his knees. Clearly, Bill wasn't taking any chances.

"My only condition is that you let my brother and the kids go", Stanford demanded, as he pointed at Bill, before pointing at his restrained brother.

"Fine", Bill replied as he raised his hand in promise. While he really, really, REALLY wanted to kill those kids; it was a minor price to pay for his final goal. He had to honour deals after all, being what he is. Besides, he could always find a loophole.

"No, Grunkle Ford – don't trust him", Dipper shouted as he reached his hand out towards his great-uncle. Stanford gave no response, as he with a determined frown approached Bill. The light was shining through the red stained glass of an eye-shaped window, creating an ominous glow over the whole room. Bill was floating in the air right in front of Stanford, his excitement brimming through his single eye.

"It's a **DEAL** ", Bill exclaimed, as his voice echoed by the final word. He stretched his hand out, as a blue flame enveloped his hand once more. Dipper, Mabel and Stanley were looking with sheer dismay as Stanford, with no change in his expression, stretched his own hand out, and shook Bill's hand in agreement. As soon as they shook hands, Bill's body started turning into stone, as he was soon petrified with his hand stretched out in agreement of the deal. Shortly after this, a spectral version of Bill floated out of the body, while the body itself landed standing upright on the floor.

The whole room seemed to lose its colour, which meant that all of them were now in the dreamscape. This also meant that Bill was now about to enter Stanford's mind. Dipper, Mabel and Stanley were staring in undiluted fear at what was about to occur, and they were now all powerless to stop Bill. The demon laughed maniacally, as he was rubbing his hands together in anticipation, before he flew forwards, his arms stretched out wide, as he entered Stanford's mind, while his sinister laughter echoed through the pyramid.

As soon as Bill had entered Stanford's mind; the world seemed to regain its colour as Dipper, Mabel and Stanley woke up. The effect of Bill's mental projection was that one always was in a dream-like state, hence why people always woke up afterwards. The only one who was not awake was Stanford, who was now on his knees, unconscious and trapped in the dreamscape. The vines restraining Stanley disappeared, as the older conman got up from the floor. Dipper and Mabel also got up and swiftly rushed over to their great-uncle and helped him up.

"Grunkle Stan, we've gotta help Grunkle Ford. If Bill gets what he wants, then we're doomed", Dipper shouted urgently.

"Maybe we can go into his mind as well like we did last time", Mabel exclaimed optimistically. "I can shoot kitten heads again or maybe something else, like pug grenades-"

"Kids, Bill won't find anything in his mind", 'Stanley' said, but this time in a different voice. Dipper and Mabel's eyes widened at the voice, instantly recognising it. At this point, they both looked at 'Stanley's' hands. Each hand had an extra digit on them, giving 'Stanley' six fingers on each hand.

"Grunkle Ford", Mabel stated in pure shock.

"But that means that-", Dipper started before interrupting himself. Stanford nodded.

"Yes Dipper, Stan and I switched clothes while Bill was chasing you guys. In case he ever caught you, we knew that we had to play the only card we had left, and let him into my mind. Luckily, Bill is only weak in the mindscape. This means that he can be erased with the Memory Gun once he steps inside my mind", Stanford explained.

"But you have the metal plate that prevents your mind from being- oh no", Dipper's eyes widened as he realised the implications, as he turned to look at the still unconscious Stanley.

"Stanley was the one who suggested that he and I switch clothes, and pretend to be the other. We have done it several times when we were younger so it wasn't difficult. Trust me, I didn't want to, but Stanley said it was the only choice we had that would guarantee that Bill is stopped", Stanford said as he stepped up and stood in front of his twin brother.

"But, but Grunkle Ford, we can't-"

"I'm sorry Dipper, but it's too late. This is the only chance we've got, and I will not spit on Stanley's choice, no matter how much I wish it could have been me instead", Stanford interrupted Dipper with a sad tone. He took off his brother's signature fez from his head, and pulled out the Memory Gun, before preparing it and putting in the settings. Soon, the digitalised letters on the gun's monitor read 'STANLEY PINES'.

Stanford looked at his brother. He just prayed that this would work and that Gravity Falls would be reset back to normal. Furthermore, he couldn't help but remember one of the things he had heard about Bill. Upon his many travels through dimensions, once he was accidentally trapped after his scuffle with Stanley; Stanford had seen and heard many things. After thirty years, one tends to pick up much interesting information when travelling around.

One of these pieces of information that he had managed to gather about Bill Cipher was that there may be a way for him to actually come back, even if he died. This information itself was incredibly vague, but if it was true, then there was also the possibility that the world was still in peril. True, it was probable that Bill's resurrection would take quite some time, and would most likely be long after any of the people of this time period were dead and buried-

Stanford shook his head. He didn't have time to ponder this, but he was also aware that he was merely delaying because he didn't want to erase his brother's mind. Stanford felt like such an ungrateful fool for everything that had happened. He had been so focused on defeating and vanquishing Bill that he hadn't stopped to consider the costs. Stanford would lose his brother if he did this, but he also knew that if he didn't do anything now; they would all be dead soon enough anyway, and he would lose his brother on a more permanent basis. There was no other choice.

Stanford aimed the Memory Gun at Stanley's face with his shaking hand. He shut his eyes tightly, and gritted his teeth, before squeezing the trigger.

 **-A few moments earlier, in Stan's mindscape-**

Just after jumping into Stan's mind, Bill Cipher was surrounded by a white void, with a single, black, wooden door in the distance. This door led to Stanford's memories, and by extension the equation that would bring down the force field that kept his weirdness contained to Gravity Falls.

"Oh, I'm here. I'm finally here", Bill's voice echoed through the mindscape. The triangular dream demon turned towards the door, and started floating towards it with elation in his moves. His one big eye gazed around the mindscape.

"Look at this place: a perfect, calm, orderly void", Bill commented as he approached the door. Then he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, happily floating through the opening. "I've got to hand it to you, Ford: you really know how to clear your m-…" Whatever Bill was going to say never left his throat the moment he entered through the door.

Bill had expected to either find some kind of maze, or directly find the equation he so desired. However, instead of anything like that, he found himself in a replica of the Mystery Shack's living room. And instead of finding Ford doing his science on the abnormal; he found the scientist sitting relaxed in his recliner, wearing nothing but his tank top, striped boxers and a pair of slippers. As Bill was processing this odd sight; he realised that this wasn't Stanford he was looking at. The man in the recliner was wearing a red fez, playing with a table tennis paddle, before pointing and winking at Bill with a grin. This man, who only had five fingers on each hand, was Stanley Pines.

"WHAT", Bill shouted in surprise. How was this possible?!

"He he: doing a pretty good impression of my brother, don't I? Switch clothes; and no one can tell us apart", Stanley explained with a playful tone in his gruff voice. "Welcome to my mind. I'm surprised you didn't recognise it." His teasing made Bill stop and look around.

"WHAT", Bill shouted once more. Of course, how could he have been so stupid?! In his victory, he was confident that Ford would see reason. However, in his arrogance, Bill had been too hasty. But why go through the charade? This was not just a simple prank, played just as a final desperate attempt to trick Bill. Something was else up. Regardless of the reason, he had no reason to be here.

"The deal's off", Bill declared as he glared with his one eye at Stan, and shook his arms in a negating manner; signifying the deal was broken.

However, just as he had made this declaration; the door behind him shut close. Shocked, Bill turned instinctively towards the noise behind him. As soon as he had turned, light blue flames started to rise and consume the door, before spreading itself to the rest of the room.

"What the- no, no, NO, NO", Bill shouted in realisation of what was happening.

"Oh yeah, you're going down, Bill", Stanley stated with a calm, yet smug tone, while relaxing in his recliner. "You're getting erased. Memory Gun – pretty clever, huh", Stanley pointed to his temple as he explained. Bill was looking horrified around the room, as the light blue flames consumed everything within it. How could he have forgotten the Memory Gun that bumpkin created? His slit pupil was darting around the room, and found not a single route for escape, meaning that he was trapped.

"Y-you IDIOT", the triangular demon shouted, as he pointed at Stanley. "Don't you realise you're destroying your own mind too?!" In response, the elderly man simply shrugged his shoulders without a care.

"Eh, it's not like I was using this space for much, anyway", Stanley stated casually, as the flames rose higher and higher.

"Let me out of here! LET ME OUT", Bill shouted in pure desperation, as he turned around towards the door he came through, and stretched out his hand, trying to use his powers of the mindscape to get himself out of there. The darker blue flame in his hand flared briefly before disappearing without a single effect to the world around him.

"Why isn't this working", Bill asked himself, as he gripped the top of his triangular body. His eye was full of worry, as he dropped down on his knees, and hunched over the floor. How could he get out of here? His powers were not working! As he was pondering what to do; Stanley stood up from his recliner, and Bill saw Stanley's shadow covering his smaller frame.

"Hey, look at me. Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon", Stanley said in his gruff voice, causing Bill to turn around and look at the man he had mistaken for Stanford. Stanley had lost his smile, and was now pointing down at the demon with the most infuriated glare that any human could create.

"You're a real wise guy, but you've made one fatal mistake: you messed with my family!" Bill stared at the man in front of him. He was the only chance he had before it was too late.

"You're making a mistake", Bill exclaimed as he turned around. The flames were almost upon him as he looked up at Stanley, still on his knees. "I'll give you anything! Money; fame; riches; infinite power; your own galaxy; PLEASE" Bill shouted in pure desperation. His pupil changed from a dollar sign, a star, a cauldron of wealth, and a galaxy to symbolise the various offers he provided.

Though, he saw how Stanley kept glaring at the triangular creature, as his fists curled up into a fist in rage. Bill was not going to be able to tempt this man. Instead, Bill was going to die here!

"NO", Bill shouted, as he tried to fly up and get out of the mindscape, and away from his doom. However, only his eye started stretching out, along with a set of arms, while his triangular body seemed to be stuck in its original position. Then, like if someone let go of a stretched-out rubber band; Bill was snapped back into his body. The experience was extremely uncomfortable and odd, causing Bill to look down at his hands. Unfortunately for him, things got worse as his body started to glitch out.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME", Bill shouted in confusion and fear, as his eye wrinkled up in worry, and his voice started becoming more distorted than it already was. He then tried to increase his size, and force his way out, but failed as well as his form started to glitch out more and more. His now red form started to melt.

In this millisecond, Bill Cipher fully realised that there was no way he was going to get out of this. Well, there was only ONE way he could. Of course, this wasn't a preferred option, but it was the only card he had left. As Bill was a near-omniscient and omnipotent entity, he was fully aware of many things on the multi-dimensional planes. One of these things was that, while he was a criminal, he could still seek redemption for his crimes. It was a one-time use though, and after that any death would be permanent. However, he was very unsure, as he knew the consequences of performing the Redemption Ritual, as one could call it. Sadly, Bill had only two choices: this ritual or death, and Bill definitely didn't wish to die.

 **"** **A-X-O-L-O-T-L! My time has come to burn! I invoke the ancient power that I may return!"** As Bill shouted out the ritualistic words, his body was distorting itself more and more, and the glitches started to increase in their intensity as well.

His red, larger form melted, and afterwards, he turned into two rotating pyramids with eyes on top of a platform, before he started to glitch out again, and the pyramids crumbled. Then he turned into a melting and distorted version of his former self, with a pink hue and green eyes. The glitches got worse, as he returned to his original self and started switching colours, as his sclera became black, with strange symbols replacing his pupils. Then, he once more became a distorted triangle, with several eyes, and several flailing arms. All the while, he was shouting the ancient words that would invoke the ritual; even though it just sounded like gibberish to the stone-faced Stanley.

As Bill finished up calling out the invoking words, his form had now reverted back to its original, triangular form. Only this time, his colours had reverted to completely black, and his eye had turned completely red, aside from his slit pupil. He had invoked the name of that frilly know-it-all. Now, Bill had to do an action that was for someone else's benefit, and that wasn't part of an already existing deal, to prove that he was willing to redeem himself.

"STANLEY", Bill screamed, as he shakily started reaching for the older man. If he could just get into physical contact with him; then he could put some of his powers within Stanley, thus allowing his memories to come back much easier than they would have otherwise. It wasn't part of any deal, especially since Bill earlier declared the original deal void.

While Bill reached his hand towards Stanley; Stanley himself started pulling his right hand back, with a determined frown on his face. Then, he threw a straight punch right into Bill's eye. While not what Bill had in mind; it still provided with the necessary physical contact that was needed for it to work. So with the last of his power; Bill let out a surge of electrical energy from his body that went into Stanley's mind, which would help jumpstart his memories and cognitive functions. Knowing that little optimistic Shooting Star; Stanley would probably regain his memories soon enough.

However, because of the flames and Bill's unstable body; Stanley's punch proved to be too detrimental. With that one right cross, Stanley managed to destabilise the dream demon, causing him to be torn apart, and his pieces to fade away into the fires surrounding them.

With one final scream that echoed through the deteriorating mindscape, Bill Cipher was gone.

 **-Meanwhile, in the Time and Space, between Time and Space-**

While all of this was happening, the ritual reached out to the one intended, within this mysterious, otherworldly place. Within this place, it seemed like time itself had stopped, even though the milky white void was glittering and colours were swirling around. Amongst all of this, a giant presence was floating around, along with a seemingly pleasant beanbag. This presence was a giant axolotl, with pale pink skin, short limbs with long, thin digits, and black lidless eyes. However, this particular species of salamander's most common trait was the three pairs of external, frilly gill stalks that had a red hue, on its wide head.

However, to call this being just a salamander was a bit insulting. This was not just any axolotl; it was THE Axolotl, an extradimensional creature considered to be one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, ranking alongside Time Baby. However, the omniscient being knew that there was more to be seen in the multiverse, and as powerful as the Axolotl was; it was also fully aware that there was another player at the board that give him a run for his money: Bill Cipher.

The multidimensional criminal's power had always been deadly and dangerous, but when he had gained his physical form; his power had skyrocketed to the point of becoming infinite. Yet, in his own arrogance and urgency for spreading his chaos, Bill Cipher had allowed himself a moment of weakness. This was also the reason for his demise. Yet, before his demise; he had invoked the Axolotl's ancient power: the Redemption Ritual, a ritual with a one-time use that allowed anyone to repent for their crimes, no matter how heinous.

"So, it's time", said the Axolotl, his voice echoing through the void, reminiscent of a whale song. Bill Cipher had invoked his name, in order to redeem himself. Now, Bill Cipher would have to exist as a consciousness for a long time, as that was part of the ritual.

 **"** **One way to absolve his crime; a different form, a different time"** , the Axolotl exclaimed knowingly. His eyes stared into the infinite, milky white void.

 **"** **Your words have reached me, Bill. Through them, I carry my will. You shall see the same world anew. With body one, and spirits two."** The Axolotl then started floating away towards his beanbag. Right now, he felt he deserved a nap.

 **-An unfathomable amount of time later-**

Within the unstable void; a light was slowly flickering, growing stronger and stronger with each flicker, until it was flashing brightly, and then it formed a triangular shape. Soon, the triangular form of Bill Cipher appeared in the middle of nowhere. The yellow, glowing triangular dream demon looked down at his hands.

"I am… still in my original form… what the hell", Bill wondered out loud. He was fully aware of the Redemption Ritual that the Axolotl had set up. It was designed as a final chance for any criminal. It seemed that it was one of the many creatures that saw wisdom in giving those truly powerful beings, and criminals a chance of redemption upon death.

However, there was one rule to this. They had to pay for their crime and serve a sentence for an undetermined amount of time, before they were put into a different time and a different form. This is the rule of the Axolotl, which was why Bill was currently very confused.

Bill Cipher had spent the past eternity or so trapped within his own personal hell. He was stuck in the first dimension. In his mind he understood the irony of the punishment. He had declared the second dimension as flat and uninspiring, to be trapped as merely a triangle, looked down upon and judged for what he was. His punishment was meant to be something of a wake-up call, like "Oh you think 2-dimensional beings have it rough? Imagine 1-dimensional beings".

So Bill saw the irony of the punishment, but it still didn't change the fact that he was merely a consciousness, trapped within the practical non-existence of the first dimension for what have been billions upon billions of years.

The "different time part" of the ritual was pretty straight forward. He had been gone for what may be considered an eternity, and was now in a different time altogether. However, "a different form" had yet to be achieved. He was still a bloody triangle! Though, he guessed something was different, as he felt… diminished somehow. He would figure that one out soon enough.

At this point, Bill looked around where he was. He was essentially within a dark void of sorts, though it seemed rather familiar to him. After a while, he noticed that certain areas of the void would flicker with swirling shades of dark purple, red and yellow. Bill's single eye widened at this, as he could recognise those swirls anywhere, regardless of how diminished and damaged they were. He was back in the Nightmare Realm, only during those billions of years that he was gone; it had sadly decayed and gone through its inevitable self-destruction.

The truth about the Nightmare Realm was that it was actually not an actual dimension of sorts. It was more so seething, intergalactic foam between realms, without any real laws of physics. However, due to its lack of consistent physics; it was also incredibly unstable, and destined to one day self-destruct. So while he had taken over the Nightmare Realm, and managed to become one of the most feared entities of the multiverse; he was sadly the King over a realm that would destroy itself, and everything else within it.

This made him look down in slight sorrow. His Henchmaniacs… his friends… they probably were sucked back into the Nightmare Realm after his defeat at the hands of the Pines twins. Because of his urgency to create chaos and to liberate another dimension, proving that he was on a righteous quest; he let himself be FOOLED by those blasted twin brothers: Stanford "Sixer" and Stanley Pines. He had already reprimanded himself over it, but yet again he couldn't help but remind himself that he should have been more careful. The pair consisted of a genius paranormal investigator, and a professional con man. Bill should have known better; now his Henchmaniacs were dead because of it.

He had encountered many of the criminals and nightmares that used to inhabit the Nightmare Realm over the eons, ever since he claimed dominion over the Nightmare Realm over one trillion years ago. He had taken it over shortly after he liberated his own dimension, and he had to find a new home. Over the eons that he spent in the Nightmare Realm, he recruited several people as his closest friends. Well, it was the closest he ever got to a friend. While he may not have been the most polite, and he always established himself as their King; he still considered them decent friends, and fun enough to distract himself with.

They had stayed in his realm, as they would have been hunted down anywhere else. No one, not even the most hardened and determined law enforcers, would dare go into Nightmare Realm. After all, they would not dream to go into a chaotic mess of boiling, intergalactic foam, which was destined to corrode and self-destruct. The irony was that the reason why the Nightmare Realm was the safest place for Bill's Henchmaniacs was also the reason why it was also their eventual death sentence. So when Bill Cipher learned of the prophecy that detailed that he would merge the Nightmare Realm with the third dimension; he jumped right on to it. That was why during the eons that followed, Bill meticulously manipulated countless of humans in the hopes of gaining a physical form, which would result in him liberating the third dimension, and opening a gateway to the Nightmare Realm.

Sadly, he had failed in the end. It was probably that after waiting for a billion years; he had gotten a little impatient and annoyed with the seemingly smaller obstacles that ended up becoming massive. That was why in his impatient state, he failed to notice 'Stanley's' sixth digit, or how 'Stanford's glove had felt a bit strange when they shook hands. Even with his infinite power, he lost. And during his absence and imprisonment; the Nightmare Realm's self-destruction had cost all his Henchmaniacs their lives. Now, there was virtually no Nightmare Realm, no Henchmaniacs, no prophecies, nothing. He was alone now…

Oh well, he would make the best of this that he could. He shook himself out of his mood, and focused on the matter at hand: his powers and his home. First off, he noticed that his home was still present in a sense. It seemed that even with its self-destruction; the lack of laws made it so that it was reborn in another chaotic state. It seemed not even the laws of death could apply to the realm without natural laws. Though, the same couldn't be said for anyone staying there, which meant that while the Nightmare Realm was regaining power: his Henchmaniacs never would.

Bill shook his head again. He had to stop thinking about that. The point was that the Nightmare Realm would revitalise itself and slowly become strong again by leeching off other universes and it had already started to do so.

As for his powers; Bill took a deep look into his being, and noticed that his powers had indeed been lost. While he still retained his power of the dreamscape and mindscape; he had lost all other powers relating to his physical form. Furthermore, it seemed like even his powers as a Dream Demon were somewhat weakened. Was this the different form that the Axolotl spoke of? No, that was too simple. Something else was missing, but he had no idea what the thing was.

Bill decided to put that thought on the back of his mind for now, and instead check into what had happened over the eternity he was away. Maybe the answer to his different form lied in there. Hopefully, he still had the power of nigh-omniscience left. Thankfully, he still had the ability to see the things that had happened. It seemed that he could still see everything that had happened in the third dimension. He opened up the viewpoints, which was every pyramid or triangular shape imaginable. Furthermore, he could also see into the world through the use of trees, as his had eyes within trees. Thankfully, that piece of magic was still active. All of this allowed Bill to see what had happened during his absence, or at the very least most of it.

It seemed that quite a lot had changed amongst since he invaded Gravity Falls and instigated Weirdmageddon. At some point during the Time Baby's rule over the world, humanity had tried to fight back against the infantile Time Giant's tyranny. This had caused massive casualties on all sides, and by using advanced futuristic technology; they had actually managed to weaken Time Baby, at least enough to be considered a threat to that dumb baby. However, Time Baby had decided to make a tactical retreat to another dimension with the use of one of his time wishes. In other words, he fled like a little coward.

Shame he wasn't around this dimension anymore. Those time wishes could have been very helpful for Bill Cipher. If only he was still capable of controlling time and confronting Time Baby. Sadly, his influence only extended to him seeing into the future and visiting anyone there through their dreams. However, this was more so due to the volatile nature of the Nightmare Realm. At this point in time; he was unable to do so.

However, it seemed that Time Baby's absence caused massive anarchy to reign. During this time, wars occurred all over the world, until it was all brought to a gruesome stop when a meteorite crashed into the planet. This event caused all technology of the world to shatter, the continents to reshape themselves, and most humans perished. Curiously enough, this meteorite carried the seed for something called a God Tree, a gigantic, parasitic tree that drained the natural energy of everything around it. Funnily enough, humans worshipped this tree, and its powerful fruit that would bloom once every millennium. Though, Bill Cipher was not one to talk on that one, as he had plenty of personal experience with humans worshipping malignant beings, him included.

Nevertheless, the tree existed as an object of worship for the next several millennia, with strict laws forbidding people from ever consuming the fruit, labelled Chakra Fruit, whenever it bloomed. Of course, this got Bill waiting for the moment someone inevitably would consume that blasted fruit.

And lo and behold; in comes the culprit, though Bill would admit that he was surprised who it was. It seemed that the one who did it was a woman, but not just any woman: an ALIEN woman. Yeah, an extra-terrestrial named Kaguya Otsutsuki. Quite the inspiring woman really, with aspirations of protecting the world, as some form of Messiah. Thereby consuming the Chakra Fruit, and obtaining godlike powers. Then becoming consumed by the power, and being defeated by her two sons. What a lady!

Then, everything just got more interesting. One of Kaguya's sons, Hamura Otsutsuki, established a colony on the newly restored Moon. The original moon had been destroyed during Time Baby's reign. However, it was her other son, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, that was the more interesting one; or rather his actions were interesting to the triangular demon. Hagoromo established a whole new sect about sharing the power called chakra with everyone in the world, and called this religion Ninshuu. The idea was to be able to connect to your fellow human, with the intention of Ninshuu bringing peace. Only for it to be twisted into its successor, Ninjutsu, and weaponised chakra. Oh how humans can be so adorable at times.

From there, about two thousand years passed until the present day. During that time, humanity had adapted into using chakra, and created the era of Shinobi. The Shinobi Villages, wars, deadly ways of using chakra, and so much more was created in the spans of just a couple millennia. Their powers were extraordinary, and could so many wondrous things. Oh, Bill was comparing them to the humans he was used to seeing. Compared to something like himself; they were incredibly weak. Even those all-powerful Bijuu stood little to no chance if he had his physical body. Though, it could be fun to mess around with some of them at one point.

On that note, Bill also tried to find any trace of his frozen body that he left behind once he made the deal to enter Stanley's mind. If he was lucky, he might be able to find out where his physical body may have been hiding. Sadly, it seemed that his body was buried and completely destroyed by the meteorite. Well, he supposed that he should have expected that, as he was supposed to take a different form after all.

Bill sighed, and tiredly rubbed his one eye. Billions of years' worth of knowledge was taxing, even for him. Though the most depressing thing was that, while it had been interesting; it had not really given him any sense of clarity. He had really nothing to do and no plan at all. How on earth was he going to regain his powers? Was this tied to the chakra that every living human now possessed? Could the answer be in any of the other dimensions?

Well, he could always focus on it later on. For now, he was feeling slightly nostalgic, and decided to see if he could enter the world. Focusing his power, he focused on somewhere with plenty of trees, and before he knew it; he teleported away from the Nightmare Realm.

 **-In the forests near Konoha-**

Bill Cipher appeared in the deep forests of the Elemental Nations as it was called, near a place called Konohagakure no Sato, or just Konoha for short. So, it would seem that he was still capable of visiting the third dimension, despite his lack of a physical body. Just like before, he visited the realms outside the Nightmare Realms as a spectral entity, a mere shadow that could only communicate if he either had a vessel, or drew someone into the mindscape. He looked around the place he was in.

 _'_ _Ah, feels just like Gravity Falls. Only with less weirdness and more idiocy'_ , Bill thought to himself, as he looked around. It was night-time, and the wind was blowing through the leaves. Though, for some reason; he had a feeling that this peaceful feeling was about to go away.

His thoughts were proven correct when a loud roar filled the skies, causing the birds in the trees to scatter in fear, and Bill looked up to see a gigantic fox rise above the trees. That was most definitely the Kyuubi no Kitsune that Bill Cipher had seen in the recollection of memories. He was curious what was going on, so he flew in the direction where the Kyuubi had appeared. He soon found himself in front of the Fox, as well as a masked man, and a weakened woman with red hair. He started thinking about it until realisation struck him like on of Stanley's punches.

 _'_ _Oh yeah, that must be the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, I believe. Well, former Jinchuuriki now'_ , Bill thought to himself. He admired the headstrong woman for pushing through everything that had happened. From what he had gathered, she was supposed to give birth to a child on this very day. How come the Kyuubi was out? Probably because of the man who was about to use the Kyuubi to turn her into mush.

However, before said fox crush the Uzumaki; a yellow flash appeared and snatched away Kushina. Bill instantly recognised the man in the white haori and blond hair as the Fourth Hokage and Kushina's husband, Minato Namikaze. Minato exchanged a few words with his wife, before he teleported away. So, the two newly made parents were had been reunited on this disastrous night? Well, now he was curious about this power couple. He wasn't sure why, he just was.

Bill followed their signatures, and soon found the place where Minato had left Kushina along with their newly born son. He believed the boy's name was going to be Naruto or something. Strange to name someone, after something found in a noodle dish. Though, considering that it also meant "Maelstrom", and also from the little he had seen about the mother's obsession of ramen; Bill wasn't surprised that she picked that name.

However, upon gazing at the new-born son, Bill froze in shock as he felt the boy's powers. Not just the potential he gained from both parents, but more specifically what he found deep in the boy's soul and core: Bill's own power! This boy contained the missing parts of Bill's power! Now he understood what the Axolotl's ritual had resulted in. His new form was this boy! However, the best part was that when he joined with this boy, he would not only most likely regain his powers to their former strength; he would also gain a physical form. This meant that he would not be bound to just the Nightmare Realm! This was brilliant!

Bill Cipher was beyond excited, and laughed maniacally. He couldn't believe his luck, and he rubbed his hands in pure glee. Bill then floated towards the little boy, prepared to possess his new host, and got into the boy's body.

…Only to float out through the boy. The Dream Demon stopped himself, and looked back at the boy who was still lying next to his mother. Bill tried to enter the boy's body once more, but it failed again. At this point, Bill stopped and just looked at the boy. Why couldn't he enter?

Suddenly, Bill rubbed his one eye in frustration. How could he have been so excited and impulsive? He was still in the mindscape. At this point in time, he was essentially a shadow or a spectre. Of course Bill wouldn't be able to inhabit a physical body. The same rules applied as before – he had to make a deal in order to access the boy's body. Just great!

Now, on the surface, that sounds simple. However, the thing about these deals is that they had VERY specific rules. They may not be many of them, but a demonic deal could not be made without these in mind. One of these rules was that the one who received the deal had to be of conscious mind and knowingly agree to these deals. And while Bill could tell that Naruto had an incredibly high IQ for a baby – that still didn't change the fact that he was a bloody new-born! It was impossible for the baby to have the cognitive abilities to understand such a concept. This meant that he couldn't just cause the baby to shake Bill's hand and unknowingly agree to give his body to Bill. The baby had to be aware that it was making a deal – even if Bill never stated out loud that he was taking Naruto's body.

However, while he was angry and lamented his poor luck; he realised that it didn't mean that it was completely hopeless. True, he could wait a few years, but he could also get the deal done right now. After all, the traditions do state that in the event a new-born child being part of the deal; the parents can actually be the ones to make the deal in the new-born's stead.

Now, normally no parent would ever make a deal involving their new-borns. The only exception is when they are extremely desperate, usually regarding their child's safety. And considering that the Kyuubi was roaming around…

Bill Cipher chuckled, as he simply floated unseen by the people around him. He looked at the exhausted former Jinchuuriki cradling her son. Bill considered himself to be a very good chess player, and he knew the virtue of patience. The opportunity would soon arrive when the parents would end up in a desperate situation. All he had to do now was waiting…

 **-About an hour later, with Minato and Kushina-**

Minato was looking down at his new-born son, Naruto, who was lying on the ritual altar by Minato's feet. The altar was on top of an octagonal slab, surrounded by eight candles in each corner. Minato's blond hair was blowing in the wind, alongside his white haori. It surprised the newly made father how silent this moment was, considering that panic was still thick in the atmosphere and the growls of the Kyuubi should be echoing in the air. He suspected that the Kyuubi was aware of what Minato was planning to do, but at the same time; there was a part of the Fourth Hokage that couldn't help but wonder if the world gave him time to reflect what was happening.

Just a couple of hours ago, his wife Kushina gave birth to their first child, a little boy named Naruto. They had been expecting and planning for this day, and knew that it was going to be a marvellous event regardless of the pain. Sadly, life wasn't always fair. This day was supposed to be a day filled with joy and love, and possibly Kushina's worrisome and stubborn demeanour about holding on to her baby. Instead, that madman claiming to be Madara Uchiha ambushed them and ripped out the Kyuubi from Kushina's seal, before possessing the beast with his **Sharingan**. What followed next would surely go down in the history books as one of the most devastating nights in Konoha's history.

The Kyuubi, under Madara's control, proceeded to rampage the village. It killed thousands of people in its wake, destroyed several buildings and brought countless amounts of damage all over the village. After Minato had secured his wife; Minato proceeded to seek out the Uchiha claiming to be one of the legendary founders and traitor of Konoha. The Fourth Hokage had an intense fight with the man, who proved to be incredibly elusive, considering his ability to become intangible. The Yellow Flash had to use the very best he had at his disposal in order to hurt Madara and use the **Contract Seal** to remove the control the Uchiha had over the Kyuubi.

However, despite the **Contract Seal** removing the control, it couldn't usurp it. This meant that while the Kyuubi was now free of control from the power-hungry Uchiha, it also mean that it was free to attack the village as it pleased. The Uchiha had escaped and was now gone, though he was still a threat for the future. But the Kyuubi had to be dealt with now. Unfortunately, there was only one way to deal with a Bijuu, as they couldn't be killed: Fuinjutsu. It had to be sealed away, which was precisely the problem. The only way he could guarantee that the Kyuubi would be sealed is if Minato used one of the most powerful Fuinjutsu known to mankind, the **Shiki Fuujin**. The ability to call forth the Shinigami itself to seal away the soul and power into the selected container, but it came with a cost. Whoever summoned the Shinigami had to pay with their own soul, which meant that Minato would not only die, but also be unable to pass on the afterlife.

He couldn't help but groan to himself when thinking about the situation at hand. Minato had not even been a father for more than a couple of hours, and already he was about to leave his son behind to face this harsh world without a father. That thought stung the Yellow Flash's heart, as he himself had been an orphan growing up, and so the concept of putting his son in the same position truly devastated the man. Sadly, there was no other way. Madara had clearly stated that he would regain control over the Kyuubi, and that he would rule the world. The Kyuubi could not be allowed to fall into his hands.

Sadly, the only ones who could contain the Bijuu were people from the Uzumaki clan, and there were only two left now. And even worse, only one of them was fit to contain the Kyuubi: his own son. Minato was essentially subjecting his son to a life of being a Jinchuuriki, a container for one of the nine Bijuu. This was not something he wanted to subject his son to, especially without being there to personally protect him.

Kushina herself had objected vehemently to the suggestion, and had tried to convince Minato to change his mind. However, Minato stood firm, while sharing how much he regretted putting his own son into this horrible mess. He hoped that Kushina could survive long enough to get help, considering that she is an Uzumaki, and as such would possess the Uzumaki longevity. However, he couldn't let his son and the village perish. Likewise, he couldn't bear the thought of asking someone to give up their child, when he couldn't give up his own. Not to mention that no other child but his own could even if they could withstand the Kyuubi's chakra. Minato could only trust his own son to contain the beast.

The Fourth Hokage shook his head. Even though it had only been a few seconds at most; Minato could waste any more time. He had to perform the sealing now, before he missed the opportunity. At this moment, the Kyuubi was restrained by Kushina's **Adamantine Chakra Chains**. The chains not only restrained the Kyuubi, but they also erected an incredibly durable barrier that kept the Kyuubi from attacking anything in the distance, but also keeping anyone from entering and interfering with the sealing. One of these people was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the former Third Hokage, who could only stay outside the seal and observe what was happening within.

With a deep breath, Minato took one more look at his son, before he started going over the several hand seals for the **Shiki Fuujin** , and was about to perform the final hand seal, when a sound made him freeze. It was an exhausted groan, followed by the sound of someone collapsing on the ground. Minato turned towards the noise, and saw his wife collapsed on the ground in pure exhaustion. Not too surprising considering she had recently had the Kyuubi pulled out of her, in fact t was a miracle she had lasted this long.

"Kushina", Minato shouted, as he instinctively started running towards the red-haired woman. "Are you alright?!" Minato was worried for the fair-skinned Uzumaki that was on her knees, her violet eyes showing just how weak she was at the moment.

However, this moment of weakness had a horrible consequence. Because her concentration broke, the chains weakened enough for the Kyuubi to release one of its arms. With a roar, the beast raised that same arm in the air.

 ** _'_** ** _I am NOT going to be sealed again'_** , the Kyuubi thought angrily to itself before it launched its claws towards Naruto. The clawed hand went with an incredible speed towards the sleeping baby, who was unknowing of the danger coming straight towards him. Blood sprayed the ground as the claws pierced human flesh. The only thing was that it wasn't Naruto's blood.

When Kushina and Minato saw Kyuubi reaching out to attack their son, proving that the Nine-Tailed Fox knew that they were going to be sealing it within Naruto; they reacted purely on instinct. In one moment, Kushina pulled out power from the amazing reserves only a mother can have, as both parents jumped in front of their sleeping son. The Kyuubi's claw pierced their flesh, as they used the momentum and combined strength of Kushina's revitalised **Adamantine Sealing Chains** as well as themselves to stop the claw from even scratching the whiskered baby. They stood shaking in front of their baby, as blood was dripping down from their wounds. The newly made parents stood protectively over their son, skewered by the enormous claw like pieces of meat.

"I'm sorry, Minato… I lost control", Kushina apologised, as blood was dripping from her lips.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Kushina. You were amazing the whole time… I should have been faster", Minato replied, causing the red-haired woman to chuckle.

"Damn right I'm awesome", Kushina smirked as Minato chuckled. She then looked at her son, and her smirk became sombre. "Minato, I don't want to do this to Naruto. There has to be another way." Her voice was shaky and quivering at the thought of subjecting her son to the fate she had to endure for most of her life.

"There is no other way", the Fourth Hokage stated sadly.

"No, there must be", Kushina shouted, trying to find some way to spare her son the fate. "Why do you have to die? If we both die, Naruto will be all alone, and if you allow the Shinigami to consume you… I'll not be able to see you after death."

"I know that", Minato exclaimed with an emotional voice that was not common with his otherwise calm demeanour. "I wish I could just be selfish and keep you and Naruto with me for our whole lives… to stay as one big family… the one we were both denied. But I cannot… because I could never call myself a man in front of my son if I let my selfish wants get in the way of what is right." The Fourth Hokage's voice reverberated in the barrier, and even those outside the barrier could hear the strong voice. The only one who witnessed the current Hokage's strong proclamation of sticking to one's honour was Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the couple of Jounin alongside him.

"I trust Naruto", Minato continued. "He will be strong."

"I know", Kushina stated with tears in her eyes. "But is there really no other way of doing this?"

"Sadly no", the Yellow Flash responded despondently. "I wish there was, but right now I am too weak to do anything else. It has to be the Shinigami. I know no other being that could possibly have the power of sealing away the Kyuubi."

After Minato said these words, something changed in the air, something everyone present on that field detected. It was like something was approaching, grabbing on to their senses. The winds started to pick up, and grow a little more chaotic, as the Shinobis and even the Kyuubi were looking around in confusion. There was something unnatural about all of this.

As they were thinking about it, they felt an ominous presence growing more prevalent. Time itself seemed to slow down around them. Suddenly, a light was shining down on Minato and Kushina, who looked up. They saw the moon shining in the sky, which had suddenly gained a vertical line, almost like a slit pupil, looking down at them. Minato and Kushina gasped at the sight, and even the Kyuubi was taken by surprise of the sight in front of it. But they were surprised when they realised that someone had managed to get through the barrier without them knowing. The only logical explanation was that whatever it was, it most likely was there before Kushina set up the barrier itself. What on earth could this be?

Before they could think more about the subject, they saw several ethereal, glowing blocks approach the moon. These blocks soon formed a triangular shape around the moon, and suddenly: a bright light flashed before their eyes alongside several bolts of electricity. Before they knew it, the light faded, and the world around the humans faded into a strange grey, colourless reality. However, while surprising, it was nothing in comparison to the strange creature in front of them.

In front of them was a yellow triangle, with thin black limbs. At the bottom of the triangle, there was a brick-pattern of lines. Additionally, the creature was wearing a black bowtie, and a black, thin top hat that was slightly floating above the top of its head. But the most distinguishing trait was the single eye that was open up. Its pupil was slit, like the vertical line they had seen before, and the eye had four long eyelashes, both at the top and bottom. The being was floating in front of them, just above their son.

"I think I know a guy", the triangular creature stated, as it raised its hand affirmatively in the air, showing that its thin black arm was not fixed to any particular position on its body. Furthermore, while talking; it emanated a yellow glow, which seemed to substitute his lack for a mouth, and its voice had a strange echo within it. As Minato and Kushina stared at the creature, they suddenly caught up to what it was saying.

"W-wait… what", Minato stated, completely caught off-guard by the creature in front of him. Was this some kind of Genjutsu or something?

"Oh, this is not a Genjutsu", the creature stated, as it started floating down towards the couple, surprised that he knew what Minato was thinking. "The name's Bill Cipher. And I take it you are the Ketchup and Mustard combination at restaurants", the creature called Bill asked mockingly before laughing at his own joke. "I'm just kidding: I know who you are, Minato and Kushina."

"Wait, what are you", Minato asked.

"How do you know our names", Kushina followed up with another question, before Bill could answer the first.

"Oh, I know lots of things", Bill replied, with his arms hanging limply at the bottom part of his triangular body. **"LOTS OF THINGS"** , Bill continued, as his voice got surprisingly deep, and images of many various events flashed on his body. He then went back to normal, and raised one of his hands in the air. "As for what I am-"

 **"** **What is your business here, demon? You have no reason to be here"** ¸ the Kyuubi questioned Bill angrily, interrupting what the demon was about to say. This caught the humans' attention, as they got worried, but also curious as to why this demon was in front of them.

"Oh, spoil the whole surprise would you? Geez, you are a buzzkill", Bill replied with a sigh. For obvious reasons, Bill had rather not let that particular piece of information get out. He would have spun that he was some ancient creature, but it seemed that the Kyuubi had distrust for demonic beings. A bit hypocritical, if one was to ask Bill.

"Wait, a demon", Minato repeated with a firm voice. He had gotten over his surprise. If the Kyuubi addressed this being, then it was most likely not an illusion. Yet, it didn't explain why this triangular demon was here.

 **"** **Just get out of here"** , the Kyuubi shouted angrily, before it thrust one of its tails that had managed to get free towards Bill. As the tail made contact with the triangle, it pierced the body, but instead of exiting through the other side; the tail seemed to be sucked into Bill. A couple seconds later, the Kyuubi pulled out its tail, only to reveal that the end of the tail had lost all the fur and skin, leaving only a bone behind.

"His tail…" Kushina gasped at the sight.

 **"** **My tail – what did you do to my tail?!"** The Kyuubi's voice roared across the grey landscape, making everyone present but Bill jump in fright at the voice. **_'Wait, why is the tail not hurting from the event? It should still be hurting, heck it should be regenerating'_** , the Kyuubi thought to itself in confusion. The tail was not regenerating as it should be. What the heck was this?

"Wait", Kushina exclaimed in surprise and realisation. She started look around her surroundings, taking in the grey landscape around her. She recognised the feeling around her as it was familiar to her. "This is the mindscape, isn't it?"

"Well, well", Bill Cipher stated with a mildly impressed tone, as he conjured a black cane out of nowhere, before twirling it around. "It seems the lady figured out the situation. Hat's off to you." Bill then proceeded to take off his top hat in respect of Kushina's accurate guess.

However, as soon as he did, the world seemed to flip alongside him raising his hat, causing all of the people around to suddenly feel gravity and reality itself get thrown out of order. It felt like they were about to fall, before the triangular demon put his hat back on his head, and restoring the world back to its original form, making every right themselves.

 ** _'_** ** _Of course, we're in the mindscape. That means that this is most likely some sort of Dream Demon, which sadly means that while we could use our imagination against him; he is completely in control'_** , the Kyuubi thought to itself. The reality bending caused the little baby to wake up, before it started crying in agitation of being woken up from its slumber. Kushina immediately looked at her son.

"Naruto my dear, it's alright", she said softly, as she reached out her hand and gently rubbed her son's cheek, even though she was stilled pierced by the Kyuubi's claw. As her son felt his mother's affection; Naruto seemed to calm down and lightly look up towards his mother. A small giggle escaped his lips as he gleefully looked at the one who brought him into this world. Kushina smiled, before looking back at Bill Cipher.

"What is that you want?" Her voice was stern, demanding the triangular demon to explain exactly what his intentions were for being here.

"Geez lady, calm your horses. It's like you don't want me here", Bill stated, as he corrected his bowtie. Both Minato and Kushina had also noted that Bill had a strange habit of constantly changing size, going from really large to about their size.

"Well, I guess I should explain myself. As the furball may have figured out by this point", Bill started, and his words caused the Kyuubi to growl at him. "I am in fact a Dream Demon of sorts. And this is the mindscape as little Kushina here accurately guessed. As for what I want: well, I would like to lend a hand."

"What do you mean 'lend a hand'", Minato asked cautiously. "Are you claiming that you are capable of sealing away the Kyuubi?"

"Indeed I am capable of such a feat", Bill replied with a confident tone in his voice. As he replied, the Kyuubi was paying attention to his words.

 ** _'_** ** _I can tell that he is not being fully honest. I would guess that he does have the power, just not currently available. What does this mean'_** , the Kyuubi wondered to itself. One of its many powers was the power of sensing negative emotions. This included the ability to detect any deceit or lies, and with enough practice – he had enough experience to tell the various lies and half-truths from each other.

"You really can help seal away the Kyuubi", Minato asked with both elation and trepidation lacing his tone. He was truly hoping that there was another way, maybe he could save both his wife and himself while at it. "Why would you want to?"

"Because I am impressed with how you jumped in front of the Demon, and that you have proven your perseverance. Many humans would have run away, and I must say I am impressed", Bill replied.

"Really", Kushina responded with a simple eyebrow rising up in confusion.

"You deserve a price", Bill stated, as he tapped what would have been his chin, while looking to the side in contemplation. While thinking, Bill's cane disappeared. "Here, have a head that's always screaming." At these words, Bill raised his hands up to the side, and clapped them together.

After he did this; a human head appeared with a look of panic on its face. As Bill stated, it was screaming over and over again, as it fell on the ground right next to the altar. Kushina and Minato looked horrified at the head, as it was screaming in absolute terror. Then, Bill snapped his fingers, causing the skin to peel of the head and went up in the air, before it disappeared, followed by its muscles and flesh, before the skull joined as well. After the head had disappeared in the horrific fashion, Bill laughed nostalgically at the display, while the others were horrified by it.

Surprisingly though, they heard another set of giggles. Everyone looked over, and saw Naruto giggling at the strange display, causing everyone to be surprised and a little scared. Bill smirked at this, knowing that this boy was indeed connected to him.

"The point is I like you", Bill continued as he pointed towards Minato and Kushina, drawing their attention back to him. "How about I help you seal away this big fox for you, huh?" He floated right next to them. "I only ask for a small… **favour** , in return." In one moment, Bill's voice grew deeper, as his eye glowed blue, and dark blue flames enveloped his hand.

"What kind of favour", Minato asked, as he held on tighter around his wife on pure reflex. The mannerisms of this demon did not exactly paint Bill as a benevolent being.

"Well, I guess I should give you some background to help you understand. You see, several billion years ago, I was trapped as a state of consciousness after invoking an ancient power. This was to prevent me from dying after I let my overconfidence get the better of me", Bill started explaining.

"The ritual I performed is an ancient one that allowed me to redeem myself for any crimes I have committed. After spending billions of years trapped as a mere consciousness – I have finally returned." Bill spread his hands out wide in the air in elation.

"However, that is not all. Another condition of this ancient ritual is that after I have redeemed myself; I will be part of a different time and gain a different form. Obviously, after spending billions of years imprisoned as a mere consciousness, I have ended up in a different time. However, I have yet to gain my different form. As such, my powers are heavily diminished in comparison to what they would be otherwise. This leads me to the reason why I am here", Bill explained fully.

"You want us to help you get this different form", Kushina asked confusedly. "We have no idea where this different form of yours is, and I don't think that we have time for that at the moment." Her response was dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually, that is no issue", Bill simply replied with a suave tone, causing all of the people around them to raise their eyebrows in confusion. "Let me explain. When I first regained this form in front of you, I noticed that my powers were heavily diminished, and I wondered why I had yet to enter my different form. However, upon getting into this village during the Kyuubi's attack; I found my powers hidden within the soul of one of the people. I knew that this would be my different form. And would you know it – this different form is within your possession." He then turned towards Naruto with a gleeful look in his eyes.

This action, combined with the explanation, caused Minato's and Kushina's eyes to widen in realisation of what he wanted.

"No, don't tell me…" Minato's voice whispered as he looked at Naruto.

"That's right – your son is my different form", Bill replied with a casual tone.

"Stay away from my son, you stupid, self-obsessed pyramid-reject", Kushina shouted angrily at Bill, who simply blinked at her.

"Huh, that's a new one", he muttered in slight surprise. Usually people called him insane, but they never called him pyramid-reject before.

"Wait, if our son is your different form, why have you not joined him", Minato asked, realising the hole of logic in Bill's explanation.

"That's a good question, Yellow Flash", Bill replied while pointing at the Fourth Hokage. "You see, as a Dream Demon; I have no physical form. I cannot interact with anyone or anything, unless it is in the mindscape. As such, I cannot become one with your son. In order to be allowed entry – I need to make a deal, which requires the one receiving the deal to possess the knowledge of what a deal is. Of course, this is something that a baby is not capable of having."

"So that is why you are coming to us. Because as the parents, we can make a deal for him", Minato analysed.

"Exactly, I knew that you were smart enough to realise it", Bill stated with excitement in his tone. "All I need is to make a deal with you so that I can enter your son's body." At these words, most of them started to blink.

"Um…", Minato started, a bit embarrassed.

"What is it- Oh god dammit", Bill muttered annoyed, as he realised what Minato may have been thinking. "Not like THAT you idiot – get your mind out of the gutter."

"Well, be careful with your words, teme", Kushina shouted at Bill. "And you can forget this little deal of yours. We are not going to let you possess our son, you evil triangle!"

"Listen, I understand that it may seem horrible, but I assure you it won't be that bad. Your son will be alive and safe; I will make sure his body stays healthy. Besides, if you allow me to seal away the big fox over there; then you won't have to summon that Shinigami guy", Bill replied with a confident tone.

"I would rather let a thousand Shinigamis tear my soul apart for several eternities before I let my son's soul get destroyed by some Dream Demon", Minato gritted his teeth at the three-sided creature.

"Hmm, seems to me like you didn't have any problem with summoning a literal manifestation of Death itself to seal away the Kyuubi in the first place, thereby never allowing yourself to see your son and wife again in the afterlife. Not to mention forcing your son into a life of hatred and sadness considering how Jinchuurikis are treated." Bill's words cut deep into the Hokage's soul, as he was aware of what the demon was referring to.

"No, you're wrong. The village would not be so narrow-minded, and they would honour my request of treating Naruto as a hero", Minato denied.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself? You know all too well how people treat their Jinchuurikis considering all the spy reports you have read from the various countries. And that is without any massacres occurring. You were going to leave your son alone after one of the biggest tragedies of this village's history, and you think they won't treat him like he is lower than crap", Bill asked rhetorically. His words cut even deeper within Minato's soul. Hiruzen, who was witnessing the events from outside the barrier, couldn't help but silently agree. The village would definitely show now mercy to the young boy if the Kyuubi was sealed within him, especially after tonight.

"That may be so; but you are assuming that we will both die. I will not let my son face all of that crap on his own", Kushina screamed, breaking Minato out of his sad mood. The Yellow Flash smiled at his passionate wife, who probably was stubborn enough to kick death itself in the groin.

"Actually, it is very likely. In fact, I can guarantee that summoning the Shinigami will pretty much guarantee your death right here and now, Habanero", Bill responded the irate redhead.

"What do you mean", Kushina asked the Dream Demon suspiciously. In turn, Bill just blinked in surprise at her question.

"Wow, you really forgot? Maybe that is because we are in the mindscape, but you two are quite literally skewered like the juiciest of shish kebabs", he stated with a deadpan tone, causing Kushina to blush in embarrassment as she looked at the claw going through her. How the hell could she forget that in all of this?

"If your hubby was to summon the big, spiky-haired soul-muncher, you would be affected by its mere presence. This would cause your body to give up. But if you were to agree to my deal, then you actually have a small chance of surviving, even with that giant fox-claw piercing most of your inner organs."

"My life means nothing in comparison to my son's life. You are essentially asking us to sacrifice our own son to save our own arses. I refuse to let such a thing happen", Kushina exclaimed sternly. In response, Bill sighed at her determination, which was admirable, yet fruitless.

"You make it so needlessly complicated. Do you think that I actually need you? I can just wait a few years, let the village wear your son out, and then approach him with this deal. Regardless if you live or not, I will still get my physical body. This way, you will at least get something as a thank you present", he stated callously. This caused Minato and Kushina's eyes to widen in realisation. He was right; he could honestly wait a couple years. If what he said was true; then they would most likely die, and Naruto would be left alone.

"No, please don't", Kushina shouted in despair over her son losing his soul.

"Well, the choice is yours, but time is ticking", Bill stated, as his eye morphed into a watch that was slowly ticking down. "Tick tock, ketchup and mustard", his voice echoed.

"No… not my Naruto", Kushina whispered in misery, as tears rolled down her eyes. She didn't want to leave her son alone in this horrible world, but at the same; the price wasn't worth it. Yet Bill stated that it was inevitable. What should she do?!

Meanwhile, the Kyuubi was looking at the parents weeping at the circumstances. It enjoyed seeing the people who were about to seal it away again cry in misery, especially the woman that had kept it chained down on a stone slab. Still, while she was tearing up about the situation; the Kyuubi couldn't help but feel torn as well. It had been genuinely caught off-guard by the fact that this boy was their son. The Kyuubi had a suspicion, but that was it. Not to mention the fact that they were going to seal the Kyuubi inside their son because they had faith in their only child was sickeningly admirable. It reminded the Kyuubi of how the Sage of Six Paths had given his whole being for this ungrateful world, and been preaching about peace until the very end. Despite what this woman had done to the Kyuubi; it couldn't stand the woman crying this helplessly. Besides, if this Bill Cipher was as powerful as the Kyuubi suspected, then Bill could help the Bijuu as well.

 **"** **Hey you said that this boy was your different form, right"** , the Kyuubi asked. The question drew the attention from a slightly surprised Bill as well as Minato and Kushina.

"Yes, that is what I said, furball", Bill replied, as he adjusted his bowtie. Through the debate, both Bill and the parents had been so absorbed in the dilemma that all three had forgotten the giant nine-tailed fox right behind them.

 **"** **Well, I can tell from your presence that your powers are somehow diminished. If your physical form is this boy, then I am suspecting that you have to access this boy in order to seal me away in the first place"** , the Kyuubi stated with a smirk.

"And your point is…", Bill asked with a narrowed gaze. Where was the furball going with this?

 **"** **I am saying that while you may be all-powerful in the mindscape; you have no power in the actual world if you can't even get access to this child. That means you have to access the boy's body before you can do anything; and you can just choose to ignore the humans' request for aid while you leave them to die"** , the Bijuu responded.

 **"** **I am sure you know that I am capable of sensing negative emotions, and I can tell that you were not being fully honest about sealing me away. It was more so to get their attention"** Minato and Kushina's eyes widened in realisation. They turned their eyes turned back to Bill.

"You would have possessed him as soon we agreed to it. You were lying to us", Minato gritted his teeth in rage at the conniving triangle in front of him.

 **"** **Oh, don't feel bad. Deals with demons are always deceiving, and they will often find loopholes. However, if a demon was to make a deal and give their word to hold up their end of the bargain, then they could never break it"** , the Kyuubi explained to the couple. **"A demon rarely gives their word, because when they do; they have to keep it. Otherwise they die."**

These words caused Minato and Kushina to return their gazes back at the Kyuubi. They understood exactly what the Bijuu was doing, and it was perhaps the biggest shock today. The Kyuubi was actually helping them. But why would it do that?

"You know, I was aware that you could easily have given them assistance, I just didn't think that you would", Bill sighed in exasperation.

 **"** **Well, I couldn't resist the temptation of making it more complicated for you. Besides, I think that you should be more considerate and generous considering you are making a deal involving all of beings present here tonight"** , the Kyuubi stated confidently. **"Giving your word would mean quite a lot."**

"Again, you really think that I will just make deals left and right? I already told you, I don't need them, and I need you even less, to make a deal that allows me to get the boy's body. I can just wait a few years, and then approach the boy directly. You cannot stop the inevitable", Bill replied with a smug tone.

 **"** **Then why didn't you?"** At Kyuubi's question, all of them got really quiet. **"As you stated, you could have just waited until this boy is of age. So why didn't you wait in the first place? You have no reason to talk to us at all."**

 _'_ _That clever furball, he saw through me'_ , Bill thought to himself angrily. His one eye narrowed at the fox in irritation.

"What are you talking about, Kyuubi", Minato asked the Bijuu. The giant fox turned its gaze towards the Fourth Hokage, and grinned widely.

 **"** **He is afraid that his body will be hurt or even destroyed by the people of Konoha. This demon has to wait at least several years, and during that time; your son could end up in a lot of danger. Besides, just because he will go through a lot of pain and may be desperate for affection; he is still your son"** , the Kyuubi explained. The last words made Minato's and Kushina's eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.

"What do you mean with that", Kushina asked.

 **"** **I mean that the boy will most likely be pretty clever and perceptive. As such, he may not be as easily fooled by Bill's tricks. And as he never agrees to any of Bill's deals; your son will sooner or later die naturally or through someone killing him. Either way, Bill would lose his physical form"** , the giant fox elaborated with a giant smirk on its face.

"See, this is why I never made any deals with foxes. They are far too sly for their own good", Bill stated with an annoyed tone.

 **"** **Oh, but I think you should change that policy of yours, as I am interested in making a deal with you"** , the Kyuubi said smugly. This caused Minato and Kushina's eyes to widen in horror. The Kyuubi wanted to make a deal with Bill.

"You want to make a deal? What could you possibly offer", Bill asked with an inquisitive gaze.

 **"** **I am sure you understand that no matter what power you will obtain: sealing me will require an immense amount of energy. I am willing to offer to be sealed willingly. All I ask in return is to be in complete control and have direct influence over the boy"** , the Kyuubi replied with a grin. It intended to get its freedom, one way or another.

"And why should I allow you complete control of the body I will inhabit", Bill retorted with a glare.

"You are both forgetting the most important part", Kushina shouted angrily, interrupting the conversations between the two demons. "Kyuubi, I appreciate that you have helped us out here, but you forget that you have literally no say in our son's fate! None of you are going to be controlling him, and that's final." At her words, her chakra levels increased dramatically, and her hair started floating around like tails around her.

 **"** **Why you ungrateful human, I should-"**

"No, SHUT UP", Kushina screamed at the fox. "Do you think that I wanted to be your prison? Since I was a little girl, I was forced into a position that I never wanted to be in. I don't care what you have done, and I would rather let you live in a distant mountain somewhere. Heck, I even tried to find a way to release you from my seal." As she was screaming, the Kyuubi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, never knew that one did ya? Well, I will tell you this: I have never drawn upon your power, not ONCE. And you know this to be the truth! I can accept that you are angry being a prisoner – I'd be pissed off too-tebanne. But I will not let you try to control my son's body and soul, you wretched puppy!" Kushina's screams even shocked the Kyuubi into silence. She then turned back to Bill Cipher.

"As for you, you isosceles freak; listen closely to me! I have no intention of ever letting you destroy my son's very soul. If you want to have your new form, then you have to swear that you will stick to your word! And the deal is changing; if you want to access his body – you have to give Naruto his free will. And you can never usurp it-dattebanne!"

When Kushina was done screaming her demands, Bill couldn't help but close his eye, and rub it in frustration. This was supposed to be so easy, and now it was just getting annoying.

"Habanero, let me ask you something: what do you think happens when two souls inhabits one body", he asked with a clearly annoyed tone. Kushina was confused at his words, but decided to humour him.

"Um, well nothing, as according to a friend of mine in the Yamanaka Clan; they can inhabit a body and take control, and everything is fine."

"That is not what I am asking for" the triangular demon corrected. "What you are talking about is a form of possession. What I was asking about was allowing two souls in one body to have free reign at the same time." After his question, the Uzumaki Clan Head was quiet for a few moments.

"Well, I don't know-"

"Exactly, you don't know. In fact, let me tell you something Habanero: **NOBODY DOES**!" Bill interrupted Kushina's response, and when he screamed, his voice turned more demonic, and his eye glowed an ominous red colour. "Do you think I know what happens after the Redemption Ritual? No, I don't. No one does! This is why I am trying to take the safe route."

"What do you mean", Kushina asked, a bit mellowed out after witnessing Bill's aggressive response. It shocked the Uzumaki, because the demon had acted rather silly up until this point, but he had clearly shown that he was a force to be reckoned with. Even the Kyuubi was silent after seeing Bill's outburst.

"I mean that it is the safest, because I don't know what happens if I was to enter your son's body, and let both our souls remain", Bill explained to the younger beings. "I know what happens if I eject his soul; I will be in control, and have my different form at last. If I let your son's soul remain and be in control, I don't know what could happen.

Our souls could co-exist, they could merge, one could absorb the other, or they could annihilate each other. Perhaps the safest option is for me to eject his soul, so that his body can live on."

"But how come that we can seal the Kyuubi and other Bijuu within humans just fine", Minato asked, as he felt that it was a huge hole in Bill's logic. "The Bijuus have souls too, and human's souls are never affected by their presence."

"Listen Yellow Pervert, this isn't like your precious Fuinjutsu.. This is on a whole other level. Besides, I doubt any of those demonic stuffed toys have ever performed the Redemption Ritual", Bill retorted with frustration coating his voice. "And this is also far from anything those Yamanakas are trying to accomplish. Because of the Redemption Ritual, I do not wish to take any risks."

"Yellow Pervert", Kushina repeated confusedly with a raised eyebrow.

"After his earlier reaction, I feel encouraged to call him that", Bill replied with a justified tone. "The point is that the only safe way that I can think of doing this is by ejecting his soul. I need him to regain my powers. As I said earlier; my powers are within this child!"

"Kyuubi, please tell me… is he telling the truth", Minato turned around and asked the Nine-tailed Fox.

 **"** **He is telling the truth, Fourth Hokage. It seems your son does contain Bill's powers, and that he has no clue what happens if they were to both inhabit their souls. Demons have taken possession of bodies before, but none of them have ever dared trying to take over when there is already a soul in there"** , the Kyuubi explained. Minato's eyes flickered around as his mind was racing for an answer to help his son.

 _'_ _Crap, I hoped I could find a hole in his logic. I have to find some way to convince him to not ejecting Naruto's soul. I could just reject the deal, but that would mean risking that Naruto would face Bill in the future'_ , the Yellow Flash thought to himself.

 _'_ _This is not fair. Why did Naruto have to be the different form for this Dream Demon, and contain his powers…? Wait, that's it!'_ "Where are these powers located", Minato asked Bill.

"What do you mean?" The triangular demon was getting incredibly exasperated at this point. These humans sure were persistent.

"I am asking where your powers are within my son. Are they in his body, or in his soul?" At Minato's question, Bill's eye narrowed in contemplation as if he felt that he missed something.

"They are in his core and his soul… oh dear Axolotl", Bill's eye widened when he realised what he had almost done.

"Well, I was wondering, if the powers are in the soul: you cannot expel Naruto's soul from his body, because that would mean that you would lose your powers", Minato exclaimed.

 _'_ _I almost ejected my powers from my different form. How could have been so stupid? I thought I learned from my mistake with the Mystery Twins of not acting too rashly'_ , Bill reprimanded himself.

"Bill, can I ask something", Minato decided to interrupt Bill's thoughts. Hopefully, his next words would be enough to convince Bill to leave his son's soul intact within the body. "You stated that the result of the Redemption Ritual was that you would gain a different form in a different time, correct?"

"That is right, Yellow Pervert", Bill confirmed. His tone proved that he was slightly distracted, but not enough for him to throw in a jab at the Fourth Hokage. Minato had to restrain the twitch that arose from that name, while Kushina had to restrain herself from chuckling at her husband's derogatory nickname.

"Well, if you are supposed to take a different form, how will you get that if you eject my son's soul? If we overlook the fact that my son contains your powers for a brief moment, think about the concept of different form. Would that also not include your soul as well? If you eject my son's soul, maybe you will never get your complete form." At Minato's explanation, Bill gained a contemplative expression. The triangular demon tapped a finger at the place where his chin most likely would have been.

"You know what Yellow Pervert, you've convinced me. I'm sold", Bill stated with an honest tone. He then raised his right hand in the air.

"I, Bill Cipher, give my word and swear upon my ancient powers to uphold the agreement I make with Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Kurama, also known as Kyuubi no Kitsune. All of these deals will surround me merging with my different form, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." Minato and Kushina briefly reacted upon hearing the Kyuubi's other name, but before they could question it, Bill continued with his pledge:

"I will follow the agreements word for word, and not bend the truth in any form." After saying these words, a blue light glowed around Bill's body, before it disappeared into his being. He knew that it was just better to give his word right away. Now they had no reason to doubt him.

Besides, the Fourth Hokage did have a point. The Axolotl most likely had it planned that Bill would merge with this boy or something. Well, no matter: he just had to make the best out of this situation.

"Now, I have given my word, and that furball knows this to be the case. Let's arrange the deal. You already know what I want. I am willing to give you two more things in addition to sealing the Kyuubi away into your son. This will give you one condition each", Bill explained with a professional tone, though it did very little to disguise his frustration.

"Well, the first condition is obvious: promise that you will let Naruto have his own free will, and that you work with him; never against him. This also means that you will look out for his well-being and help both of you get as strong as possible", Kushina stated her condition quite firmly. Bill nodded, already accepting it. Now, he was bound to it, so he couldn't back out.

"Agreed, but with the addendum that I will let the merging happen with no interference or modification on my end. If Naruto ends up being the one in control, or if he lives; I swear I will not usurp his free will in any form", he elaborated, making Kushina nod. "Now, for the second-"

 **"** **Oh no"** , the Kyuubi interrupted the Dream Demon. **"I am not going to be cut out that easily. I refuse to just let myself become any prisoner in some disgusting human again. I REFUSE!"** The fox's voice echoed through the mindscape.

"No worries on that one, furball", Bill mocked the giant fox. "You see, I know what you truly desire, though it's obvious. You desire freedom, to be away from these greedy humans." At his words, the Kyuubi narrowed its eyes.

 **"** **What are you suggesting?"**

"Well, I will not give you free control over the boy, regardless of what happens when he and I merge. But what I can give you is the ability of free movement within the seal", Bill started explaining. He then snapped his fingers, and created an image of a lush field with plenty of mountains and lakes.

"Instead of just creating a simple seal that imprisons you, I will create a small pocket realm for you within the boy's body. It will essentially become a summoning temple for you, and you will be able to roam freely within this place.

It will not harm the boy or restrain you whatsoever, aside from the fact that you have to stay within this seal for a hundred years. During that time you will work as a partner alongside Naruto. After that, you are free to leave if you so choose." Kyuubi seemed to contemplate the deal and was tempted to accept, and Bill decided to add the final cherry on top.

"This is what I give in return for you being sealed away willingly. Additionally, using the extra energy that would have gone into forcing you into the seal; I will instead transport us to the Nightmare Realm, which means we will be away from other humans. That means for a few years when the child is growing up – he will be growing up in the realm I control, with little to no human contact. Isn't that nice?" Even though the Kyuubi knew that Bill was still patronising the Bijuu; it wouldn't deny that Bill had managed to win the giant fox over. Even a few years away from human beings or at the very least minimum contact with them would be a massive relief for the Kyuubi.

 **"** **Very well, I agree to your terms"** , the giant fox agreed. Bill simply nodded, before he turned his attention back to Minato.

"Now, it's just you left, Yellow Pervert. Habanero and furball have already agreed on their ends. I just need your condition as well", Bill stated with a professional tone, making the Kyuubi actually snicker at Minato's nickname. Even when he was serious, Bill couldn't resist mocking one of the most powerful men alive.

"Well, I think everything has been covered, and I can't really ask for much else. Though, I am curious: how strong is Naruto going to be with your power? Is he going to be really strong", Minato couldn't help but ask. Kushina had already covered the most essential for them both regarding Naruto's well-being, so it was just his ability to protect himself that was left.

After asking his question, Bill Cipher started laughing loudly. Minato and Kushina looked at the Dream Demon in confusion. What was so funny about Minato's question?

"'Really strong' is quite the understatement, Yellow Pervert. Let me try to put this in a way your mind can understand: you have no idea just how strong Naruto and I will become. If we reach even one tenth of the power I had before I invoked the Redemption Ritual; very little in this world will actually stand a chance against us, including furball", Bill Cipher stated without any hint of exaggeration. The words caused Kyuubi's eyes to widen, as it could tell that Bill wasn't lying.

 ** _'_** ** _Just how powerful is this Demon'_** , the Kyuubi wondered to itself.

"Wow: that is impressive", Minato responded with awe in his tone. "I knew that my son was going to be amazing, but I didn't know just how much.

Anyway, my condition is the following: please give him the knowledge behind our Shinobi techniques. That includes our collective knowledge in Fuinjutsu including the Hirashin, our various Ninjutsus such as the Rasengan, Kushina's chakra chains, as well as both Kushina's and my Taijutsu styles.

However, don't just give them to him freely, he has to earn it. I don't want our little boy to grow to arrogant, as that is just bad parenting. Please give him this from us, in case we were to die and be unable to pass it on to him." Minato finished his condition for the deal, which in turn made Bill's eye widen in surprise.

"Really, that's it? I mean, I can do that, but why not ask me to heal your injuries or something?" Bill wasn't sure why he was asking them these questions, which would have undeniably made it more difficult to him. There was something deep down that made him want to understand these humans a little better.

"Oh, we don't want you to waste too much energy. You could hurt yourself and by proxy our son. As we stated earlier – our son's safety means more to us than our lives. We would happily risk our lives if it gave our son a better chance. And now we are doing such", Minato explained with a simple smile, as Kushina nodded with the same smile. Bill couldn't help but stare at them.

"You are strange, let me tell you. Well, no matter: let's finish this", Bill started, as he slipped into his professional stance.

"The conditions aside from sealing the Kyuubi will include giving Naruto free will and grant him knowledge of your techniques. As for the deal with the Kyuubi, in return for willingly being sealed away: he shall get complete freedom within a pocket realm, and will work alongside Naruto and I for 100 years before being freed if he so chooses, alongside that we travel to the Nightmare Realm after the sealing is complete. Are these conditions acceptable to all", Bill summarised their deal. Minato, Kushina, and even Kyuubi nodded at Bill's words.

Bill started reaching out his hand for them to shake on it. But before he could say anything; Kushina and Minato started coughing up blood. This caused their eyes to widen in horror.

"Wait what…" Minato muttered in surprise.

"The Mindscape doesn't stop time, at most it slows time down", Bill explained. "You two are still dying, and we don't have much time left. Let's finish our business, shall we?"

"Wait, Bill-san, one more thing", Kushina interrupted. "Can we have a few minutes to say a few words to Naruto before we finalise the deal? Please, just a few moments to say good bye." Bill was silent for a short while, before he raised his arms in the air and caused the whole world to glow, and ripple. In that moment, colour seemed to return to the world around them, and was virtually indistinguishable from the real world.

"I have slowed time down as much as I can. However, even so; you don't have much time before you cross the line of being beyond recovery. You have a few minutes Habanero, use them as you wish", Bill replied with a casual tone, as he faded into the background and became invisible. He just wanted to get this over with, but he could indulge them for a while. It was their lives after all.

"Thank you so much", Kushina thanked the triangular dream demon. She then turned towards Naruto, as blood was dripping down her mouth, and smiled at the innocent azure eyes that were looking back at her. Minato and Kushina smiled brightly at the young baby boy.

"Naruto… Don't be picky. Eat lots and grow strong. Make sure that you bathe every day and stay warm. Also, don't stay up late. You need lots of sleep. And make friends. You don't need a lot of friends. Just a few… Ones you can really, really trust.

I wasn't very good at it, but keep up with your studies and practice your Ninjutsu hard. Remember that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So don't get too depressed if you can't do something well. Respect your teachers and upperclassmen at the Academy." Kushina's words echoed through the field, as everyone heard her speak.

Hiruzen stared at the scene in front of him, and was in awe that the fierce Uzumaki was such a tender and loving woman with her son. Though, deep down he knew from the start that Kushina was going to be a great mother. The Kyuubi was actually moved by Kushina's words, and slightly surprised that this was the same woman who had kept it chained up in her mindscape for so many years. As for Minato couldn't help but smile at the pure love in Kushina's voice. He held on a bit tighter to Kushina, as she continued with her final message to their only son:

"Oh, and this is important. It's about the Three Prohibitions for a shinobi:

Be extra careful about lending and borrowing money. Put your mission wages into your savings account.  
No alcohol, until you're twenty. Too much can ruin your health, so drink in moderation.  
Another Prohibition is women. I'm a woman, so I don't know too much about this, but… All you need to remember is that this world is made up of men and women. So it's only natural to take an interest in girls… But just don't get hooked on bad women. Find someone just like me. Speaking of the Three Prohibitions; be wary of Jiraiya-sensei, you know."

Minato couldn't help but smile wider at Kushina making one final jab at his mentor, who still annoyed Kushina with his perverted antics. He then listened, as Kushina took a few deep breaths. It was clear that even with Bill's time dilation; that their time was swiftly running short. She took a deep breath before proceeding once again:

"Naruto, from now on, you're going to face lots of pain and hardship. Be true to yourself. Have a dream and have the confidence to make that dream come true." Kushina's voice started to waver, as she squeezed her hands tighter at the Kyuubi's claw that was still piercing her very being. The pain became more prevalent, but it wasn't the pain of the claw, it was the pain in her chest. Tears started to well up in her eyes, as she looked lovingly down at her only son.  
"There's so much… Oh, so much more that I want to pass on to you. I wish I could stay with you longer. I love you" Kushina wept as tears were rolling down her cheeks, as she closed her eyes shut in sadness. "Minato, I'm sorry I used up your time." At her apology, Minato simply shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's okay", the Fourth Hokage consoled his wife, before he leaned forward and looked at Naruto tiny form. "Naruto, this is your father… my message to you is… I guess it's the same as your nagging mother's." Minato said happily, as he playfully winked at his son, who seemed to light up when seeing his father's mannerisms, even if he couldn't understand them.

While this was happening, Bill Cipher was observing what may have been the parent's final interaction with their new-born. It was so strange to the triangular demon, but for some reason; Bill felt peculiar feelings rise up within him. Perhaps it was the effects of the Redemption Ritual, but he couldn't help but vaguely remember some things from more than a trillion years ago. Memories of someone whispering similar words of comfort in his ears, faces he had long since forgotten about, whether through the passage of time or because he forced himself to. It was so strange, remembering those faces, both with smiles of joy as they were near him, but also of sadness when they eventually burned…

Bill stopped himself from going too far into those memories and feelings. He then turned his attention back to Kushina and Minato, who were now done with their message to their son. He made himself visible, and composed himself before addressing them. As he made himself visible, the world lost its colours once again, turning everything into various shades of grey.

"Are you ready", Bill asked the three of them.

"Yes we are, Cipher-san. And also… thank you for this. Now you better keep our son safe, Cipher-teme", Kushina stated with a small grin, as the tears were running down her cheeks. The newly made parents still held on to each other.

"Don't mention it. We are done here, and I assume all of you are happy." When all three of them nodded, Bill created two more right arms from his body, and held all three arms out to shake on their joined deals. "Then, it's a deal", Bill Cipher exclaimed as his hands were surrounded in blue flames. Minato and Kushina reached out and accepted a hand each, while Kyuubi reached out one of its other tails (that still had skin and flesh) and shook it with Bill's final hand. Surprisingly enough, the flames did not burn them, or even give off any heat for that matter.

After Bill had shaken their hands, Bill's eye gained a look of pure excitement. He may not be able to eject the boy's soul, but he still got his powers back. Better yet, he regained his physical body! Next, Bill snapped his fingers, and both Minato and Kushina felt something intrude into their minds. Shortly after, they saw wisps of blue energy exit the top of their heads before it went into Naruto's mind, and both parents figured out that it must have been their knowledge of various Shinobi Teachings being passing down to their son. Thankfully, the knowledge seemed to have been copied, as they still possessed the knowledge as well.

As soon as Bill had fulfilled this particular condition, there was nothing else he had could do while in the mindscape. With an excited laugh, his whole body started to glow. Bill rubbed his hands in glee, as his laugh echoed loudly through the mindscape. Then, he descended and entered Naruto's body, thus regaining access to his powers once more.

The moment he had descended, the mindscape seemed to ripple. Everything around the people present regained its original colour. The people in the field opened their eyes in surprise as they gasped in shock. It felt like they had been asleep and were simply dreaming the whole time. They all shook their heads to try to clear their minds.

"Did… did it work", Minato asked with confusion lacing his tone. Kushina gave no response, as she was also wondering the same question. Both of them couldn't help but wonder if what had happened was just a strange hallucination. Though, before anyone could say anything else; the little baby on the altar in front of them opened his eyes. To their surprise, Naruto's eyes were no longer azure, but were instead glowing yellow and had a slit pupil in each eye: the very same eyes Bill Cipher had.

"Alright, let's get this over with", Bill Cipher voice echoed as the baby open his mouth. Then Bill, using Naruto's body, clapped his hands together. The Kyuubi felt a pull on its very being, and as part of the agreement; it didn't resist it. The Bijuu's whole body seemed to twist and morph into pure energy, as it was transported into the young boy. Just a few minutes later, a seal appeared on the baby's stomach, signifying that the Nine-Tailed Fox had been sealed away.

"Thank you, Bill-san. Stay safe, Naruto… we love you", Minato whispered, as Bill/Naruto clapped their hands one more time, and teleported them away from the altar. As soon as they were gone, Kushina let go of the barrier created from the **Adamantine Sealing Chains** , before both of them collapsed on the ground. Without the Kyuubi around; their wounds were now wide open, with nothing clogging them up. Minato did the best he could to use his own body to stop the blood flowing out of his wife, trying to at least keep her alive.

The moment the barrier was down, Hiruzen and the Jounin accompanying him rushed over to Minato and Kushina, before looking them over.

"Hokage-sama", one of the Jounin shouted, while trying to block the wound going through the village leader's stomach.

"Uzumaki-sama", the other shouted, as he attended Kushina's wound.

"Minato-kun, Kushina-chan – what happened", Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a tone that tried to conceal his panic. "What happened to your son? Who was that Bill person?"

"My son…", Kushina whispered. "His name… is Naruto… and he is safe… don't worry…" At Kushina's words, Hiruzen eyes widened in surprise. While Hiruzen had heard parts of the conversation, he had not been able to hear everything.

"Hiruzen", Minato muttered with a voice that managed to be both exhausted, but also strong and empowering at the same time. "I am not sure if we will make it or not, but regardless: here are my final orders." Hiruzen and the Jounin straightened up. Minato had entered his Hokage Mode, and was clearly serious at the moment.

"Yes Hokage-sama, what is it", Hiruzen asked his village leader.

"The events of what happened this night are labelled as a SS-rank secret. When asked, the official story is that I was the one who sealed away the Kyuubi into a child. Nothing is to be said about Naruto or about Bill Cipher", Minato ordered.

"Understood, Hokage-sama: it will be done", Hiruzen obeyed his leader with a nod, as he understood the sensitive situation.

"Good and one more thing: if we were to die, or end up incapacitated; I want you Hiruzen to take up the hat again. You are the only one I trust at the moment", Minato wheezed, before coughing up some blood. "Take care of this village, Hiruzen."

"Don't worry Minato. I will take care of everything", Hiruzen assured the wounded man.

"Thank you, my friend", Minato whispered, before he lost consciousness alongside Kushina. The Jounin were about to panic, before Hiruzen managed to snap them out of it.

"Listen up – the Fourth Hokage has given his command. You two are to be silent about the events tonight, under penalty of death if you say anything. Have you understood?" At Hiruzen's words, both Jounin nodded in respect of Minato's final command.

"Good, now we have to hurry. We may have a slim chance of saving them, but that is not for sure. We have to bring both Hokage-sama and Uzumaki-sama to the hospital this instant", Hiruzen shouted. Both Jounin picked up the two unconscious parents, before all three of them were rushing towards the Konoha Hospital, praying that they would be in time.

 **-Meanwhile, in the Nightmare Realm-**

The Bill/Naruto combination was lying on what seemed to be nothing but air, as the baby was wriggling around in the dark realm, covered in nothing but the blanket that it had been lying on.

 _'_ _Maybe I should have waited until the boy was older after all. Being a baby is a pain in the arse'_ , Bill thought to himself.

 **"** **Well, beggars can't be choosers as they say"** , the Kyuubi stated from within the seal. **"Also, I am curious as to how we can communicate, as I am in the seal and you are not currently within your own mindscape."**

 _'_ _You forget that I am the Master of the Mind. I have already set it up so that we can communicate at any time. I thought it was easier that way'_ , Bill explained.

 **"** **Well, I can't argue there"** , the Kyuubi replied. **"Still, it doesn't change the fact that you are just a baby. How do you intend to deal with this?"**

 _'_ _Actually, that is not my biggest concern. For now, I have to complete the fusion, absorption, merging, mental roommate agreement, or whatever will happen between my soul and the boy's soul'_ , Bill elaborated.

 **"** **And how will you deal with that?"**

 _'_ _There is really only one way: I have to put us both in a sort of stasis. The body will grow and stay healthy, but during this time, the process will need to run its course. Whatever happens, it will take about two years for it to be completed'_ , Bill replied with a serious tone to his voice.

 **"** **Am I going to be affected by it"** , the Kyuubi asked, slightly worried that he could be dragged in the middle of all of this.

 _'_ _No, you are in your own pocket dimension. You will be fine. Though I suggest you take a nap or two, because you are not going to be seeing anyone for about two years.'_

 **"** **Alright then, well just do what you have to do"** , the Kyuubi replied apathetically.

 _'_ _Okay, see you on the other side'_ , Bill said, before Bill/Naruto clapped their hands together one last time.

After this, Naruto's body started to glow a yellow colour, before he was surrounded by a black and yellow miasma. Soon, this miasma solidified into a sphere around Naruto. On the side of this sphere, a shining symbol appeared, in the form of an Uzumaki Spiral.

When Bill/Naruto had ended up in stasis, the Kyuubi decided that it should just explore this pocket dimension Bill had created. The Bijuu would be alone for two years; it may as well spend that time doing something.

 **-About Two Years Later-**

Over the past two years, nothing had changed within the ever-growing Nightmare Realm. Over the years, more lights had started appearing in the realm, but nothing more had happened. The only thing that was heard beyond the silence was desolate winds echoing through the Nightmare Realm, as if it was a deserted wasteland.

Suddenly, a cracking noise was heard from the only thing present: a solid black and yellow sphere with a spiral pattern on the side. Cracks started appearing all over the sphere, more of them spreading ever faster in a chain reaction, when all of a sudden: the sphere completely shattered.

In the place of the sphere once floated was a human boy. The boy's skin was a tan, and he was only wearing an old blanket around his body. His hair was spiky and blonde, with a few black highlights. Additionally, the boy had three whisker marks on each cheek, and his eyes were closed. At first, the boy was floating in the air, before it seemed as if the boy was standing firmly on something, despite there being no visible ground.

Afterwards, his eyes started to slowly open up, revealing his azure eyes with traces of yellow around them. Interestingly, the boy had four long eyelashes on both eyes and slit pupils. After the boy had opened his eyes; he turned his attention towards the miasma of orange, purple, red colours that made up the Nightmare Realm. Next, he gave a wide grin, revealing his longer canines.

"Hello there multiverse – my name is Naruto Cipher. I look forward to make your acquaintance", he exclaimed excitedly.

 _ **-To Be Continued-**_

 _ **Well, that was the first chapter of "The Deal". I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think, and give me a review. Any feedback is welcome. I think it could be fun to write this story, and hope you agree.**_

 _ **(And for those who are wondering: I am NOT abandoning my Dementor Representative story. This is a story I am writing alongside that one.)**_

 _ **Well, anyway - have a good day, and I will see you in the next chapter!**_

 _ **~Prof. Majora**_

 _ **PS. And of course - in the spirit of Gravity Falls:**_

 **QDUXWR EHFDPH WKH WULDQJOH'V UHLQFDUQDWLRQ, EXW WKHUH ZDV DOVR DQRWKHU JXHVW WKDW MRLQHG WKLV SDUWB**

 **Good luck solving it ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello there again. Prof. Majora here with the next chapter of The Deal, and I must admit that I am surprised by the amount of positive feedback this story has gotten from you guys.**_

 _ **I am very grateful you are liking this story, and I hope that you will enjoy this ride with me.**_

 _ **Also, despite my absence - I am still writing chapters for my stories, while also coming up with new ideas. I will put focus on these ideas for now, but regardless of what the future may hold; I have no intentions of abandoning any of my stories that I have written thus far.**_

 _ **Furthermore, I would just like to add that I read an interesting review that spoke of having a doujutsu, to which I say - yeah I have been considering that as well. Though I am uncertain if what kind of doujutsu he should have; an original one or one that already exists? Decisions, decisions...**_

 _ **Speaking of the reviews - credit goes to GuestReader (one of them, I assume) who managed to to decode the cryptogram of the first chapter. While it wasn't accurate word for word, the meaning behind the message was accurate. As such, I give him full credit for solving it. Well done!**_

 _ **Aside from that, I don't have really much to say for now, except enjoy this chapter.**_

 **The Deal**

Chapter 2

More light and substance was added to the seething foam that made up the Nightmare Realm. It seemed that for every day that passed; the Nightmare Realm regained a little more of its volatile nature. The nature of the Nightmare Realm was… bizarre to say the least, considering its lack of laws regarding both physics and causality. It even defied the laws of decay, and managed to somehow come back despite death, and it would most likely self-destruct once more. Still, even if it was in the Schrödinger equivalence of a time bomb; one couldn't complain, at least according to the Nightmare Realm's only inhabitant.

Naruto Cipher looked around the Nightmare Realm, the place he had been calling his only home for about three and half years ever since he woke up from the stasis-like sleep that Bill had put him in. Despite being two years old upon emerging from his bubble, Naruto had quickly learned that he was far from the regular human he had been born as almost five and a half years ago. Instead, Naruto had become something that far more demonic in its design. The best way he could understand it was that he had become the reincarnation of Bill Cipher. He possessed most of Bill Cipher's memories, with only a few exceptions that were strangely blurred and fragmented for whatever reason. There was no visible reason for this, but for the moment, Naruto assumed that it could be an effect of merging with Bill Cipher.

Currently, the sole inhabitant of the Nightmare Realm was performing various kicks and punches in the air. He was practicing various moves in his father's Taijutsu style, which relied heavily on speed and dodging. Now, considering what Naruto was, which was essentially close to being a demonic Chaos God; it may seem strange that he would train in anything at all. After all, Naruto had merged with Bill Cipher who had powers beyond imagination, and Naruto also had a physical form, which Bill Cipher only gained by the end of his life. Naruto Cipher should, by all accounts, be indestructible and beyond godlike.

Well, that would be true, if it wasn't for a few reasons. The first reason was that while Naruto had access to Bill Cipher's power; he had yet to obtain the ability to fully use them. He could perform some impressive feats and was more than capable of bending reality similarly to what Bill Cipher could do. However, the key word in that sentence would be "similarly", because while Naruto could twist reality and conjure more or less anything; it wasn't to the same extent and potency as his predecessor.

Naruto was certain that he just needed to grow up more and his powers would exponentially increase over time. As a matter of fact, from his observations; it appeared that he may in fact gain powers that would equal, if not surpass Bill's. For the moment though, Naruto wanted to be prepared and have other aces up his sleeves just in case his still developing powers would not be enough in any future event. This was one the reasons that he embraced the knowledge and training that Bill had transferred into his mind on his parents' request.

Another reason for training was because Naruto had seen Bill's past mistakes and knew very well that Bill had gotten arrogant and complacent in his so-called invincibility. By having Bill's memories, or at least a majority of them, Naruto learned that it was his own cockiness that resulted in him losing in the end, even if the memories surrounding the event were somewhat hazy, especially those surrounding Weirdmageddon. As such, Naruto felt it was imperative to not grow complacent, and keep pushing himself to become stronger and better than he already was, in order to avoid making similar mistakes.

Then there was also the reason that it made Naruto feel more connected to his parents. He couldn't help but sigh at this. Naruto could try to tell himself that he was also doing this just to pass the time in this realm, but the full truth was that he wasn't just bored; he was also lonely. Well, technically he was never fully alone…

 **"** **Hey Naruto, are you alright"** , asked a familiar voice from within Naruto's mind, causing him to snap out of his thoughts. **"You stopped practicing and rehearsing your moves. Are you done for the day?"**

"Yeah, I am Kurama. I will quit for now and have something to eat", Naruto replied with a simple tone. He then snapped his fingers, causing the simple t-shirt and black pants he was wearing for training purposes to disappear and be replaced by fresh set of black dress pants and a white dress shirt. He also put on a thin, black top hat, which he had removed during training to avoid getting it dirty. Naruto snapped his fingers again, and a bowl of ramen appeared out of nowhere in front of the reincarnated Dream Demon. If there was one thing that Naruto had gotten down swiftly; it was the ability to conjure anything out of nothing, which had resulted in plenty of ramen bowls appearing from the ether, before disappearing once they were empty.

After he had eaten, he decided to continue practicing and using one of the techniques he had gotten well-acquainted with: Cipher's ability to gaze into any realm. In this case, the Third Dimension, from where Naruto had first originated. He would often gaze into the universe he originated from, and learn pretty much everything that he could from the people he witnessed. Bill Cipher's method of spying was a both a very simple one, that essentially equated to peeking through a window, while also becoming one of the most potent spy networks that anyone had ever been able to conjure up. By simply having eyes everywhere and the brain capable of withstanding a practically infinite amount of information; Naruto Cipher held many cards in his hands.

Though, one may ask why Naruto was so keen on looking into the Third Dimension, and why not simply visit the Third Dimension itself? Well, one of the reasons he had yet to visit it was because he had yet no real reason to enter the Third Dimension as of yet. Additionally, he was being rather cautious and realising that while he had godlike powers, he had little to no control over most of it. Furthermore, he could conjure everything he needed, and was never left wanting for anything, which meant that he didn't have to enter the Third Dimension to get anything that was needed for his survival.

Well, that was not entirely true. There was one thing that he was left wanting that he could not get in the Nightmare Realm: human companionship. While Naruto was a demon on accounts of being Bill Cipher's reincarnation; he still had his humanity. Naruto had chosen to not cast it away, but instead he had embraced and held on to it. As such, he had also started to yearn for human companionship, and would at times gaze into the human world, simply observing their lives.

However, this was not the only reason he kept gazing into the human world, heck it wasn't the main reason. The main reason for gazing into the human world constantly was because he was looking for two very specific people: his parents, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.

As he retained Bill Cipher's memories, he also had the memory of when the Kyuubi was first sealed within his body. He had seen through Bill Cipher's eyes when his own parents jumped in front of him and were skewered by the Kyuubi's claw, and then when Bill Cipher made a deal with his parents, resulting in Naruto becoming the demonic being he is now. Naruto also remembered Kushina's last words to him, when she went into a long speech full of various wisdoms parents will pass down to their children.

Ever since, Naruto had tried to find his parents or any information that may lead him to their location. Whether or not they are dead, he would just like to know the truth. However, over the past few years' worth of memories and spying; Naruto had not found anything. It could simply mean that Naruto did not have the eyes in the place where they were being kept, or it was possible that they were dead.

Speaking of his parents, there was another reason for his reluctance to enter the human world. He remembered his mother's last words as he would revisit them frequently, but there was one of them that had him a bit stumped:

 _'_ _Be true to yourself. Have a dream and have the confidence to make that dream come true'_ , his mother had said, with his father simply agreeing. The problem was that he had no real dream. He had no direction. Bill Cipher wished for Weirdmageddon, but that would not happen anytime soon. Furthermore, with a physical form, Naruto had no need to try to cause another multiverse incident like that. Maybe he would, but at the moment Naruto saw no need for it.

The point was that Naruto felt that he had no direction to follow. He could train in his family's techniques and learn to control his inherited powers, but what else is there beyond that?

Naruto sighed, while shaking his head. He shouldn't be lamenting this much. He at least had a friend in Kurama, and he also had food whenever he needed it. It may be lonely, but it could be worse. Trying to distract himself, he turned his attention back to the many eyes he had implanted in the world. He gazed upon Konoha, seeing a young girl serve ramen alongside her father in a ramen stand. He saw the reinstated Third Hokage in a meeting with the Konoha Council. He saw a man with most of his face covered by a mask stand next to the Memorial Stone.

However, what caused Naruto to stop was when he gazed into the Hyuuga Compound. There, next to a tree he was gazing through; Naruto Cipher saw a blue-haired girl with eyes tinted lavender, with tears running down her cheeks without stop. He recognised the girl; Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. He had often seen her spending time for herself and at times she may have been at most somewhat mellow and downtrodden, but he had never seen her cry to this degree before. Now, Naruto had seen many people in tears, and while they had affected him to some degree; seeing the Byakugan Princess's tears affected Naruto more for some reason. Perhaps it was because he found Hinata to be such a pure being in a clan that was perfectly accepting of something as tainted as slavery. Regardless pf the reason, seeing her cry caused Naruto to just gaze at the blue-haired girl.

He was feeling a torrent of emotions going through his very being, and it left him rather confused. He honestly felt torn about what to do. However, as he saw Hinata cry her eyes out and not really stopping; Naruto made a split-second decision. The whirlpool of emotions caused the Kyuubi to stir, and wonder what had caused its host to become so distressed.

 **"** **What is the matter Naruto"** , the fox asked its host, who was now standing up and made the collected pile of ramen bowls disappear as if they never existed.

"I am going to go into the human world", Naruto replied simply. Kurama's eyes widened in surprise as while it knew of Naruto's desire to socialise with other humans; Naruto had so far never gone through with any plans to enter the human world.

 **"** **What brought this along?"**

"Quite frankly, I am not sure. I just saw the Hyuuga Heiress crying, and I felt this need to talk to her. And that is what I am going to do", Naruto stated with determination in his voice, and was about to venture into the human world, before he stopped himself. "Though, I am not fully ready to reveal my true identity to the world…"

After a few seconds, Naruto raised his hand, and simply snapped his fingers. At that point, his appearance changed completely. He was now clothed in black dress-pants, with black boots adorning his feet. He was also wearing a black dress shirt, with black gloves that covered up his arms completely.

Over this, he was wearing a sleeveless, yellow robe that was buttoned up. This robe covered his torso and most of his legs, only showing his boot-clad feet. While it covered his whole body; the robe was flexible enough to allow any kind of movement, in case Naruto needed to defend himself. At the bottom of the robe, there was a brick-like pattern. Furthermore, he still wore his trusted top hat on top of his head, alongside a black bowtie.

Additionally, the robe was also designed with a hood that covered his face. Due to the design of the hood, not only did it cover up Naruto's face entirely within the darkness of the hood; but the angular design of the hood made it look like the head was enveloped in a triangle-shaped darkness.

The final touch of his new appearance was that he had also changed his face. Now, instead of two blue eyes glowing within the hood; only one eye gazed out from under the hood: a single, large eye that had a slit pupil, reminiscent of Bill Cipher's own eye, stared out from the shadows that covered Naruto's face.

After his change, Naruto conjured a mirror and looked at his new clothing. After nodding in approval, Naruto snapped his fingers, and was soon teleported out of the Nightmare Realm, as he travelled towards the Hyuuga Compound…

 **-A few minutes earlier, at the Hyuuga Compound** -

Footsteps echoed as the small feet of the young Hinata Hyuuga, who had not even turned six years of age, ran through the compound of one of the oldest clans of Konoha. She ran past several clan members of the Hyuuga Clan on her path, but none of them got in her way or tried to stop her, as they understood and knew the reason behind her current despair. Heck, even her caretaker, Kou Hyuuga, decided to not stay near her due to the circumstances. Usually, he would be nearby and watch over like a hawk, but today he knew that the Hyuuga Heiress would need some privacy. The dark blue-haired girl ran out into one of the more reclusive gardens, where she most likely would be left alone.

Hinata fell on her knees in front of a Sakura tree, not caring that she would get dirt on her kimono, as tears were rolling down her cheeks. Why would she care about dirt on her kimono? At this point in time, everything else in her life was seemingly going to hell, so why should she care about some stupid grass stains?! The Hyuuga Princess had just been in a conversation with a few doctors, who delivered the news that despite their best efforts; there was nothing they could do. Hinata's mother, Hitomi Hyuuga, was going to die in a few hours at most.

It had been about two weeks since her sister Hanabi had been born, an event she had been excited for ever since Hitomi and Hiashi announced that Hitomi was pregnant with their second child. Everyone had been excited, as another heir or heiress would be born within the Main Family of the Hyuuga Clan, though none could compare to the sheer elation that Hinata felt. However, this joy was multifaceted. Sure, Hinata was extremely happy for the prospect of having a younger sibling that she could bond with, but it also served as a distraction for not only herself, but also for the entire clan.

A little over two years ago, Hinata had been kidnapped by the Head Ninja of Kumogakure at the time, in order for Kumo to obtain the famed doujutsu of the Hyuuga Clan, the Byakugan. While she was saved when her own father killed the Head Ninja; the circumstances surrounding what was now referred to as the "Hyuuga Affair", resulted in the death of her uncle, Hizashi Hyuuga. This in turn had made her talented cousin Neji bitter as of late, and started to hold aggression towards Hinata and the Main Family.

The event of Hanabi's birth was supposed to be a distraction from Hizashi's death and the horrible effects it had on the family. It would be a sign that a difficult time for the members of the clan was now past them – especially for the clan leader Hiashi, who had lost a twin brother from the whole ordeal. However, things turned again for the worse later on. During the second trimester, Hitomi started becoming unwell. It wasn't much at first, just signs of fatigue and an upset stomach, which were just common signs amongst pregnancies anyway. However, as the pregnancy kept going; Hitomi's illness just seemed to get worse. It seemed that her immunity system was working overtime and failing to help her. Now, while this was bad, it would not have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that she was pregnant in the first place. As Hitomi's immunity system was slowly becoming weaker, Hiashi and Hinata became more and more worried for the Hyuuga Matriarch.

Everything culminated when Hitomi gave birth to Hanabi. Hanabi came out fine, at most slightly underweight, but Hitomi was far worse off. The Hyuuga Matriarch's health plummeted due to the stress of giving birth. For the past two weeks, the doctor's had tried everything to keep her alive, as the Matriarch was sticking to her life as best as she could. Sadly, it was all for naught apparently, hence the reason why Hinata was now crying in despair. She was going to lose more of her family, and she had no idea how this would impact her father. It was a standard for the members of the Hyuuga Clan to not show weakness or emotions, but at this point in time; Hinata couldn't care less. She just wanted her mother alive and healthy so that she could play and be there for both Hinata and Hanabi. Instead, she was going to die in just a few hours, shortly after bringing her second daughter into this world.

Hinata dug her fingers into the dirt as the tears kept falling down, and her eyes were shut as she wished for some way to save her mother. She hated being this weak and helpless. As her eyes were screwed shut, Hinata almost missed the strange feeling that seemed to surround her, like someone was nearby. The Hyuuga Princess opened her eyes and looked around the garden, only to find no one around her. Strangely though, the world had lost its colours, and Hinata's surroundings had turned black and white. It felt almost like if time itself had stopped. Hinata was getting very confused as to what was happening, until she saw a light flash in the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw a glowing shape, which started to expand, turning into a triangle. As it started expanding, a cackle coming from within the triangle echoed through the now colourless garden. Suddenly, the cackling stopped and the glowing triangle now turned into a person, much to Hinata's ever-growing shock.

This person was floating in the air in front of her, sitting with his legs crossed in the air, as if he was meditating. He had his hands on his knees, which in turn formed the outline of the triangle that the person had been just seconds earlier. As the person uncrossed his legs, she got a good look at the person still floating above her. Hinata could now see that the person in front of her was not very large, and while she couldn't see his face, she would have to guess that she was most likely around her own age, simply by the size of his body. He was wearing a yellow robe with a hood that covered his face. The only thing that was visible was the single eye that was in the centre of the dark void within the hood. She could only stare at this boy, as his slit pupil focused upon her.

"Hello there, Sunshine", the boy said as he raised his gloved hand in greetings. His voice also had a strange distorted quality to it, making it sound slightly mechanical, as if it was echoing. The boy then floated over and landed right next to Hinata, who had now stopped crying due to the sheer confusion and shock about the boy in front of her.

"W-who are you", Hinata asked shyly to the boy in front of her. The young girl was usually very shy and quiet around people. This in turn sadly made her a target for several bullies, and only her bodyguard Kou or her parents had been able to prevent bullying attempts whenever they may have happened.

"The name's Cipher, and you're Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan", the boy introduced himself, while Hinata nodded in acceptance. She wasn't shocked that they boy knew who she was, as she was rather well-known throughout Konoha. While she nodded in acceptance, Naruto Cipher was contemplating his own thoughts. _'Okay, I have to be more careful; I almost referred to myself as Naruto there.'_ He looked at Hinata. _'Hopefully, I will gain some decent interaction from this girl, even if she seems to be about as confident as a turtle.'_

"Well, nice to m-meet you, C-Cipher-san", Hinata replied softly, while trying all that she could to calm herself down. _'Alright, don't panic_ ', she thought to herself. _'If you panic, he may attack you. You have no idea why he's here. At the same time, while he may not look like a Kumo-nin; don't let your guard down. Keep him talking, and someone will probably show up soon enough._ ' Unknown to her, Naruto was capable of perceiving her surface thoughts thanks to being in the mindscape.

 _'_ _Interesting… while she is very unsure of herself, there is a fire within her. She could be fun to hang around.'_ The demon smiled at the thought of this. _'Let's see where this goes.'_

"H-how d-did you g-get in here", Hinata asked Cipher with a nervous tone, silently cursing herself for sounding so frail and weak.

"Oh, I simply teleported here", Cipher replied. It surprised Hinata just how blunt he was. Either he was really good at lying, or he had no qualms about the truth depending on the situation. "Before you wonder, I am in fact not a threat", he said, shocking her once more. "You see, I entered here because I saw you being really upset, and I was wondering why this was the case."

"W-what do you mean 'saw me'", Hinata asked in pure confusion and surprise.

"Well, I have the ability to see quite a lot of things, as I can have eyes pretty much everywhere. As such, I was able to see you breaking down in the gardens just now. Hence why I teleported here to talk to you", Cipher explained with a surprisingly casual tone. Hinata just stared at this strange boy sitting next to her, when the gears in her head started to turn.

"Wait, is this c-connected to why the w-world l-lost all colours suddenly? Are y-you behind the garden b-becoming like this", she asked the one-eyed boy in front of her, who gave an invisible smile to the princess.

"Well done Sunshine" Naruto replied, making the young girl blush lightly at his simple compliment. "Yes, I am behind the world becoming about as colourful as your Clan Elders' dreary politics. Believe it or not Sunshine, but we are currently within the mindscape." At his explanation, Hinata looked around in surprise once more.

 _'_ _This is the mindscape? Does this mean that the boy is somehow related to the Yamanaka Clan?'_ She started pondering to herself, before putting that thought in the back of her mind for later consideration. "But why d-did you come for m-me? Why m-m-me of all people", Hinata stuttered in confusion.

"Honestly", Cipher started with a shrug. "Mostly curiosity, luck, and a general desire of interacting with a human being for once. As I said, I am capable of seeing many things, virtually **EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE!** " At these words, Cipher's eye turned red, and his whole being intimidated the young heiress for a brief second, before going back to his former self. "As such, I have seen that you are not usually crying, and it got me curious as to why that was." When he continued like nothing had happened, Hinata couldn't help but stare at Cipher with wide eyes.

"Um… pardon i-if I'm rude, Cipher-san, b-but… are you fully human", Hinata couldn't help but ask nervously.

"Well, yes – I am demonic…-ish – actually it IS a bit difficult to explain. But don't worry; I am not any wild, ravenous demon that you may be afraid of. I won't bite… well, unless you want me to, then that is another matter entirely", Cipher replied with a carefree and amused tone. He couldn't help but laugh at the blushing face of the Hyuuga heiress. "But silliness aside; you still haven't answered me why you were crying so much?"

"Um… it's n-not i-i-important", Hinata muttered quietly as she looked down on the ground in embarrassment. Both from the comment he made earlier, as well as the fact that attention was now squarely on her.

"Well, clearly it was important", Naruto stated with a stern voice. "I have seen you, and while you usually are somewhat mellow and downtrodden; you always seems to try to keep a smile up. Even when you are going through something harsh; you have never really cried like this. At least not from what I have seen. So to see you cry all of a sudden was quiet jarring to me, and some deep human part of me actually became… concerned, I guess the word would be the best way to describe my condition. So please do tell me, what is causing you so much sadness?"

Hinata didn't fully understand why this strange boy wanted to hear her out, but someone who genuinely wished to hear her out touched her deep within her heart. While she shouldn't have trusted a stranger she just met; there was something so genuine about this individual that compelled her to talk with him. So with a sigh, she made the decision to open up to the demonic child next to her.

"My m-mother is dying. She has b-been g-getting sick recently, and because she gave b-birth to my l-l-little sister Hanabi just a few weeks back; it was the last straw. Kaa-chan is going to die in just a few hours according to the doctors, and there is nothing I can do about it. I was wishing for Hanabi's birth to be a point where we could join together as a family once again, but instead it will split us apart even further than before", Hinata explained to the one-eyed demon who listening intently to her.

"What do you mean 'split apart even further than before'? Is this something that is related to that Hyuuga Affair that occurred a few years ago", Cipher asked, remembering what had he had seen regarding a particular incident when the Head Ninja of Kumogakure attempted to kidnap Hinata, in order to obtain the Byakugan for his village.

"Yes", Hinata nodded in confirmation. "Because of that incident, m-my uncle Hizashi was e-executed. Ever since then, Neji-nii-san has been growing incredibly m-m-more hostile towards me as he blames the main family and me in particular for his father's death." The blue-haired girl looked down on the ground with a gloomy expression. "Not only have I lost my cousin, but in a few hours, I am about to lose my mother, and there is nothing I can do!" At her last words, she couldn't help but start crying again.

Meanwhile, Naruto Cipher was sitting next to Hinata, and absorbing everything she was saying. While he was unsure whether or not he had lost his parents; he could feel the pain this girl was going through. In some ways, he could also understand the pain of the thought that one's parents would be dead, especially as such a young age in life. He sighed, and briefly had a thought if it was possible to do something about this.

At this point, his eye widened in realisation. While no human being probably could do anything; there was something he could do! He mentally smirked as his new idea, getting excited at the idea that came to mind. Naruto turned to the distraught Hyuuga.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Truly I am; no one should have to lose their parents this early on in life. And I am sad to hear that you cannot do anything. However, while you may not – I can actually do something!" At his words, Hinata stopped crying and turned her bloodshot eyes towards the slit pupil of his.

"W-what do you mean? Y-you c-can help", she asked with hope slowly rising in her chest.

"Indeed I can Sunshine", Naruto responded with a gleeful expression, causing the shy girl to blush at his words. "You see, as a Demon, I am capable of performing some amazing feats that would even defy most of reality. However, at my young age, I cannot fully access all that power. As such, something additional is needed in order to fully access my power; I need to make a deal with you." When Naruto finished explaining, Hinata's eyes widened.

"W-what kind of deal are we talking about", Hinata asked with a cautious tone. While she was being hopeful and willing to give virtually anything to save her mother; she had heard a few tales about demons asking for quite costly things in return for their services. "A-as long as I don't need to sacrifice anyone else besides myself, I am fine." Her response made Cipher chuckle loudly.

"Oh, don't worry about that Sunshine, but I most commend you for being willing to give yourself to save your own mother. I like that! In fact, that just makes me more eager to make this deal with you!" The Demon gave an invisible smile to Hinata, before sitting in front of her. "The deal is simple: I will take a look at your mother, and heal her if possible. In return, I ask for your alliance and friendship. That is all; consider it a discount for being my first customer." Hinata looked at the boy in front of her with shock. She could save her mother, and all she had to give in return was being friends with this boy?

"Wait, h-how can I be sure that you will go through with the deal. Additionally, how do I know that this isn't just a dream? I-I d-don't mean to offend, I just d-don't want to g-get my hopes up in vain", the Hyuuga Princess asked with a cautious tone.

"Ah, so you do think things through huh? Well, I am starting to like you more already. And allow me to put your fears to rest. I have to go through with a deal after I make it, there is no other way. Furthermore, while we are currently in the mindscape; my powers do extend to the physical realm as well", Naruto answered with a simple tone, conveniently leaving out that he could easily exploit various loopholes and trickeries if he felt like it, though it wasn't relevant at the current moment. Hinata felt hope swell in her chest, and while a part of her reason was being very cautious at the moment; she couldn't help but follow her heart on the matter.

"Then it's a d-deal, Cipher-san", Hinata responded softly, but still with determination and held out her hand. Naruto raised his hand up, as it was covered with blue flames, before he shook her own hand. To Hinata's surprise; the flames didn't burn her. If anything, they felt somewhat cool when in contact with her skin. After shaking their hands, thus signing their mutual contract, the flames disappeared.

"Very well then, time to get to work. Now, listen to me very carefully. After you exit your mindscape, go into your room", Naruto stated, before he snapped his fingers, and created a necklace out of nowhere. The necklace was golden and designed in the shape of a triangle with an eye in the centre. "In your room, you will find this necklace. This will not only help relieve you of your worries that this is merely a fictional dream, but it will also symbolise our alliance. I need you to wear it at all times, but do try to keep it hidden within your clothing. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, I do Cipher-san", Hinata nodded.

"Alright, time to heal your mother. I will meet you in your room when I am done! See you later Sunshine", Cipher stated, before he started floating in the air and glowed brightly. Then, he disappeared, and the world regained its colour. Hinata opened her eyes as she was sitting alone by the tree. It felt like she had been jolted awake from a dream.

The young heiress didn't waste any time, and decided to go to her room. Thankfully, none of the members of the Hyuuga Clan decided to bother her as they figured she still needed time for herself. Soon, she had reached her room, and slid the door open. Inside the room, she looked for the object she had been promised would be present in her room. True to Cipher's words, she saw the same golden triangle necklace lying on top of the purple sheets on her bed. Hinata picked it up, and put it around her neck, tucking it into her now dusty kimono. Afterward, she sat down on the bed, deciding to wait for Cipher's return.

As she waited for Cipher to return as he had said, she couldn't help but think about the strange demonic boy. Truthfully, she was feeling rather conflicted as to what she should feel regarding him.

On one hand, she was feeling cautious and nervous, as she was not cure if he could fully be trusted. She knew that it was foolish to trust a random stranger who asks for an alliance in return for his services. Especially since even Hinata knew at such a young age that an alliance with the Hyuuga Clan would carry plenty of political pull in the Elemental Nations, particularly in Konoha.

On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel sadness for the boy. If he was truthful about what he was saying, then it seemed that he had no friends at all, even going to the point of using his services to secure a friendship. This would suggest that he didn't truly know how to make friends with other people beyond giving them things. In this sense, she could also relate to Cipher, as Hinata herself lacked many substantial friends, as most people either avoided her or approached her simply because of her name.

Lastly, she couldn't help but feel happiness at the fact that Cipher was offering help from out of nowhere. Yes, Hinata was aware that it was suspicious, but she was also willing to give Cipher the benefit of doubt. Perhaps it was her optimistic and loving spirit that enticed her into believing that there was good in everyone, or perhaps it was her young age. Regardless of the reason; she couldn't help but try to see the best in everyone. Furthermore, she couldn't help but blush when she remembered how this boy kept calling her Sunshine.

It was only about five minutes later when the room lost all colours once more, and a light flashed briefly next to her, forcing her to cover her eyes. Shortly afterwards, she was greeted with the floating figure of Cipher.

"Hello there Sunshine, I am back again. Did you miss me", he asked with a playful tone.

"H-h-h-ello Cipher-kun", Hinata responded with a blush growing on her cheeks. "I-it's nice to see you again."

"Aw, well aren't you adorable enough to turn into a confection", Cipher cackled at her blush and words. He then landed on the ground in front of her bed. "Also, I think you will happy to learn that your mother is now cured. She only needs to take it easy and be careful." At his confirmation that her mother was going to be alright, Hinata's whole being seemed to light up in pure joy. Without thinking, she jumped up from the bed, and ran straight into Cipher, and hugged his form tightly with all the energy her small arms could muster.

"Thank you so much Cipher-kun", she cried in pure elation as she squeezed the boy. Meanwhile, Naruto was simply looking down at the girl, before uncertainly putting his arms around the girl and awkwardly patted the girl on her back.

After a while, Hinata realised that she was hugging this boy of the same age. She let out a squeak and swiftly detached herself from the boy, causing Cipher to laugh at her embarrassment and at the blush that covered her whole face, while she played with the sleeves of her kimono.

"While I appreciate your… vigorous appreciation", Cipher started, causing Hinata to somehow blush even brighter, before the demonic boy continued. "I also have to bring you some serious news that you need to know, especially since we know have an alliance and friendship." At Hinata's serious expression, he knew that he had her full attention. "Alright, I think it is best if I just explained what happened during the recovery…"

 **-Flashback, a few minutes ago-**

Naruto used his magic to make him invisible to the human eye, as he entered the room where the Hyuuga Matriarch, Hitomi Hyuuga, was currently resting and about to meet the Death God itself. Thankfully, there was no one present inside the room aside from the matriarch. It seemed that the Hyuuga Clan was still rather confident in the power of their doujutsu. While Naruto couldn't blame them due to the near 360 degree vision the eyes provided, alongside ability to detect chakra and energy anywhere within the compound; he still felt that they were incredibly conceited to believe that there compound was impenetrable.

After snapping his fingers, he created a simple illusion that the Matriarch was alone in the room. The irony was that because the illusion was so simple and gentle; it was less likely for the Hyuuga's to notice its presence. When Naruto was sure that the illusion was up and running, he made himself visible and floated over the pale and dying form of the Hyuuga Matriarch. The woman had the same dark blue hair as Hinata, and soft features in her face. Naruto couldn't deny that this woman was undeniably beautiful, even with her pallid and sweating skin that indicated her proximity to the pearly gates.

Naruto raised his hands over Hitomi's body, before they started to glow a soft green colour, as he tried to find the illness that was causing her body to slowly deteriorate. While he could snap his fingers and heal the damage to her body; he had to make sure that the disease plaguing her was out of her body beforehand, otherwise he may mistakenly cause more problems further down the line.

Naruto had to admit that this was rather peculiar. Even though he had never done this, it was like he instantly knew what he had to do in order for everything to work. Though, at the same time, he wasn't surprised. While he had yet become able to fully utilise his demonic powers; his control over his powers would increase upon using them for various deals. It was pretty much a temporary, but extremely potent power boost for him.

However, while he was diagnosing Hitomi's condition, he couldn't help but frown when he realised what was causing her body to shut down. Soon, he purged the dangerous element from her body, by pulling it out through her mouth, as it originated from her stomach. Afterwards, he snapped his fingers, and reversed the damaged caused to Hitomi's body, thus curing her. He then looked at the substance that was killing Hitomi slowly and examined it to the best of his abilities, before he decided to tell Hinata about this new development, and disappeared from the room altogether.

 **-End flashback-**

"P-Poison", Hinata asked in pure shock at what the demonic boy she had recently agreed to become friends with was telling her.

"Yes, a very subtle poison that was slowly but surely killing her immunity system. While I do not know exactly what the poison is, I do know that it was ingested through the mouth. I also know that it was ingested at some point during the pregnancy. It was actually a rather brilliantly made poison in that it was latent and would affect the mother, but leave the child with little to no damage", Naruto explained to the young girl who was staring at him with pure shock.

To say Hinata was surprised was an understatement. She had just learned that her mother, the Hyuuga Matriarch, was almost assassinated by a poison, and no one would have known. It was then she had to stop herself, as her eyes widened at the possibility of foul play.

"You are thinking it too, aren't you", Naruto stated with a casual tone. "You are wondering if there is someone within the Hyuuga Clan that poisoned her."

"Y-yes, I am wondering if that is the case, b-but I cannot know for sure. Though, it would explain if the d-doctors had been unable to detect anything, if they were in league with the one who poisoned her. Do y-you know a-anything about it?" At Hinata's question, Naruto shook his head.

"Sadly, I don't know anything about it. If I did, I would tell you." At his response, Hinata sighed solemnly. "Sunshine, I recommend being careful and to also warn your mother that someone may have poisoned her. However, do keep our alliance a secret just in case. If she asks, just tell her that you hired me or something."

"I understand, Cipher-kun", Hinata responded with a firm nod.

"Well then, my business here is done. I have to go back home and do some other things going", Cipher stated, as he started to float into the air, and prepared to leave.

"W-wait", Hinata said, which made him stop in his tracks. "Thank you so much, Cipher-kun. I-I can never truly repay you for what you have done, but thank you so much for everything!" She gave the biggest smile she could, but due to her shy demeanour, it only turned into a soft and gentle smile. This made Naruto's single eye light up as if he smiled.

"My pleasure, Sunshine – stay careful, and hopefully you are happier the next time we meet. Make sure to take care of your family, and do watch out for anything suspicious, and do be prepared for anything. Until then, I'll be watching you", Cipher stated, as he lifted his hat politely to Hinata, before he started glowing once more, and his voice started echoing. " _I'll be watching you…_ " Then, with a flash; he was gone.

Hinata smiled as she jolted out of the mindscape, awoken once again as if it was a dream. Only this time, she knew it was real as she still felt the necklace around her neck. While she was worried about the implications that Cipher's discovery of her mother being poisoned; Hinata was more so elated at the fact that her mother was going to be okay. She gently grabbed the necklace as she smiled and blushed at the thought of Cipher. He had helped her through one of the darkest moments of her life, and Hinata had been genuine when she had told the demonic boy that she would not be able to repay him anytime soon.

Suddenly, Hinata felt a presence just outside her room, and heard the voice of a fellow clan member. Hinata swiftly wiped off the smile and adopted a neutral look, while also hiding the necklace inside her kimono once more. The door then slipped open, revealing a female branch member with an elated expression on her face.

"Hinata-sama; it's a miracle! Your mother has just woken up. She's going to be alright", the Branch Member shouted in elation. Hinata once more adopted an elated expression, while also pretending to be surprised. She then ran out of her room, and headed straight for the Hyuuga Matriarch's room, intending to hug the mother that was doomed for death on a few moments ago.

 **-Back in the Nightmare Realm-**

Naruto phased into existence of the Nightmare Realm, as he teleported himself back to the realm between realms, which he called his home.

 **"** **Why did you do it"** , the Nine-Tailed Fox asked its host with a tone that clearly showed its confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked his fox companion.

 **"** **Well, during these three and half years that I have known you; I know that you have desired human company. I don't blame you for that, but I do know that you have never before really cared about other people. Sure you have empathised, but you have never gone out of your way like this to help someone. So why did you offer this girl a deal in the first place?"** Kurama asked the young boy.

Naruto had known about Kurama's real name ever since they first met, as he retained Bill Cipher's memories. Because of this, Naruto also knew Kurama's real identity as Bill had known when Bill and Kurama made that deal over five years ago. While Kurama was miffed that Naruto had known of Kurama's real name, the Bijuu would not deny that the two of them had formed a friendship and partnership that it had never had with any of the other Jinchuurikis of the past. As such, the two of them did not keep any secrets from one another.

"To be honest, I am not entirely sure. I think it was partly because of my desire to create friendships, along with the humanity I still retain, but I also think I made the deal because I was trying to, well, find myself…" Naruto answered uncertainly to his friend.

 **"** **What do you mean?"**

"Well, you remember my mother's last words to me before Bill teleported the two of us here, right?" Upon Kurama's hearing confirmation of remembering her words, Naruto continued. "Ever since I have heard those words; I have tried to find myself, to find that dream that my mother spoke of. I am not sure if I had found it, but I feel that this path at the very least will lead me to it. Besides, I think that this will be a good opportunity for me to train in my powers and try to even expand upon them."

 **"** **So your dream will in some way involve you becoming a butler, catering to the need of every wanton desire that human want"** , Kurama asked with a disappointing tone in its voice. At this comment, Naruto started to laugh loudly.

"Oh, my dear furball, do you have such little faith in me?" At his words, Kurama got a bit confused, but also curious as to what he may actually mean. "That would just be dull. No, I have something far more amusing in mind."

 **"** **And what would that be exactly"** , Kurama asked with a curious voice, and got a malicious chuckle from Naruto.

"Allow me to show you the bigger picture that I have planned here", the boy stated. Before Kurama could ask what he meant; Naruto had already snapped his fingers, and started to teleport himself into the human world once again.

 **-In the Land of Lightning-**

To the northeast of the Elemental Nations, one could find the Land of Lightning, a country known for plenty of rocky terrains and mountains, fitting for the most hardened of Shinobi to live in, and also renowned for housing what was the second strongest Hidden Village: Kumogakure no Sato. However, tracing back a few years, and one could not really ignore the scandal and backlash that Kumo had suffered. During an attempt to establish peace with one of the other Hidden villages, Konoha; the Kumo Head Ninja had tried to kidnap Hinata Hyuuga in order to gain the **Byakugan**.

This resulted in the incident now labelled as the Hyuuga Affair, as the Head Ninja was murdered. Consequently, Kumo retaliated by claiming that none of them knew anything about any mission to obtain the **Byakugan** , and demanded that the man responsible, Hiashi Hyuuga, surrender his body over to Kumogakure. However, while the deal was made; the Hyuuga Clan pulled one over Kumogakure, and instead of Hiashi; they got the Branch Member Hizashi Hyuuga, Hiashi's identical twin brother. As a result, Kumogakure had no choice but to concede, or else be portrayed as fools. Additionally, the village took quite a backlash as they were now painted as bloodline-coveting paedophiliacs due to the whole affair.

Most people knew these basic facts of the Hyuuga Affair, but what barely anyone knew was that there was actually not only one, but TWO Kumo Shinobi present in Konoha during this event. While the Head Ninja had been out in the open and present during the event; his accomplice had been hidden within the shadows, disguised as a civilian.

This particular Shinobi was Isamu Yotsuki, from the Yotsuki clan. The Yotsuki Clan was a prominent clan within Kumo, renowned for their valour and undying loyalty to Kumogakure no Sato, ever since they joined the village back when the clan swore their loyalty to the First Raikage. In other words, they were one of the most prestigious names within Kumogakure, and Isamu was the heir to the clan. Well, more accurately; he was the former heir to the Yotsuki Clan.

During the event later labelled the Hyuuga Affair, Jounin Isamu was supposed to be the back-up to his superior, Kumogakure's Head Ninja. On the night when the Head Ninja kidnapped Hinata Hyuuga, Isamu was nearby, ready to join his comrade as they both carried the little girl back to the village in order to obtain the **Byakugan**. However, when he was waiting for the Head Ninja; Isamu saw Hiashi Hyuuga appear out of nowhere and get ready to retrieve his daughter. In this situation, Isamu was supposed to help his comrade escape and retrieve the girl if nothing else was possible.

Instead, in a moment of weakness, Isamu froze up. He knew about Hiashi's excellence with the Gentle Fist Taijutsu, which was the reason everyone told people to never attack a Hyuuga in a direct Taijutsu battle. Ultimately, instead of helping the Head Ninja, Isamu escaped the village and got away, failing to provide back-up to his fellow Kumo Shinobi.

This act of cowardice and subordination was bad enough, but it was an even worse blow considering that the person doing it was the heir of the Yotsuki Clan, a clan that was renowned for rather facing a torturous death before giving up their comrades. Therefore, Isamu Yotsuki was considered an absolute disgrace to his clan and his village alike, and as such; he lost his position as heir and was promptly banished from both the Clan and the village.

The same disgraced shinobi was now sitting alone amongst the mountains of the Land of Lightning, lamenting his past mistake. He was wearing a torn Jounin vest, with traditional Shinobi attire covering his body. He had dark eyes, and his once neatly trimmed hair was now a messy mop that hung from the top of his head, alongside a scruffy beard. On his forehead, he had a Kumogakure Head Protector with a scratch going over the cloud symbol, thus indicating his status as a Rogue Shinboi.

In Isamu's eyes, he didn't truly see it as something he did wrong, as he was being strategic and smart about the whole event. They both wouldn't have made it out alive, and Kumogakure could rather use soldiers who were alive than dead. However, his strategic move had come to bite him back in the end, resulting in him losing his honour and ending up disgraced. Consequently, Isamu became embittered, as he sworn that he would find a way to be accepted back into the village.

While he was contemplating a way to make this happen, the world started to lose all of its colours, and everything around him started to slow down. Isamu swiftly channelled chakra through his body, trying to break what he thought seemed to be Genjutsu. However, to his incredible surprise; he noticed that the world remained the same. Was this real or just an incredibly powerful illusion? How could it possibly be real? Before he got the chance to question the situation even further, there was a strange triangular light that formed above him.

As the light grew, a mad cackle echoed from the strange light, before it faded, and revealed a strange boy, with only one eye, wearing a yellow robe floating in front of him. The boy focused his only eye straight at Isamu.

"Hey there, Moon-Boy", the one-eyed boy stated; before he seemed to suddenly appear next to Isamu, much to his surprise. "How are you doing – suffering from any hangovers recently?"

"Who are you boy", Isamu asked the boy angrily, who showed no reaction to the man's shouting.

"The name's Cipher", the boy calling himself Cipher greeted, by raising the black, thin top hat floating slightly above his hooded face. "And you're Isamu Yotsuki, but I am just going to call you Moon-Boy for now."

"Wait, how do you know my name, are you some kind of spy", Isamu asked, while preparing himself for a fight.

"No", Cipher replied simply, before pointing his finger at Isamu. "I am simply a demon." At this, a red beam was fired from Cipher's finger, which pierced the former Kumo shinobi's body, causing Isamu to scream in horror at being seemingly gutted. That was until he noticed that he was not dying or bleeding at all. He then looked about at Cipher who was laughing loudly at Isamu's expression.

"What is wrong with you, you monster?!" At Isamu's scream, Cipher seemed to stop laughing and just shrugged his shoulders casually.

"It was a just a joke Moon-Boy. Besides, it's not any worse that what you were going to do the Hyuuga Clan if you hadn't failed your mission", Cipher replied with a calm and unaffected tone.

"Ah, I see. You are here because you know of my role in the Hyuuga Affair. Well, I am sorry to tell you buddy, but you will not get any revenge here today with your strange Genjutsu", Isamu growled at Cipher, who just held up his hands.

"Jeez, relax there. I am not here to fight you or claim revenge due to Hizashi Hyuuga's death. I am here because you are the man I need", Cipher explained, causing Isamu's eyes to narrow in suspicion.

"What do you mean that you need me", the former Yotsuki heir asked cautiously.

"Well, you are technically right. I am here because of the Hyuuga Affair, but more so because I am interested in the truth", Cipher started explaining, as he floated in circles around Isamu. Then he suddenly turned his slit pupil into a question mark. "As I stated, I am a demon, more specifically a dream demon. As such, I crave various forms of knowledge and truths, especially regarding famous incidents. And where would I get the best information than from someone who was directly involved in the affair?" At this, Cipher's eye turned back into normal as the demon rubbed his gloved hands together excitedly. "This was why I was looking for you, as I am here to make you a deal"

"Oh really, and what do you possible have to offer me, you freaky demon", Isamu asked with a challenging tone.

"My offer is quite simply actually: in return for allowing me to gaze at every memory and piece of knowledge you have about the Hyuuga Affair; I will give you something that will guarantee that you are welcome back to the village with open arms", Cipher replied with a gleeful tone.

"Oh really now – and what could you possibly give me that would instantly allow me a way back home?"

"A set of those White Eyes", Cipher responded swiftly with a sinister aura around him. At this point, Isamu froze in shock and process what this boy had just told him. According to what he said; he had a set of **Byakugan** and was willing to part with it to Isamu.

"You are a liar, there is no way that you got hold of a **Byakugan** ", Isamu countered, not allowing his hopes to get to him too swiftly.

"Well then, allow me to show you one of my connections", Cipher stated with a calm and professional voice. The demon then snapped his fingers, causing a mirror to appear in front of Isamu. When he the former Kumo Shinobi gazed into the mirror; he saw a familiar face that he hadn't seen for many years. It was the face of the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata Hyuuga, who was playing with her baby sister.

"Why are you showing me this girl to me", he asked Cipher, still uncertain if this was real or not.

"Look around her neck", Cipher responded simply. This caused Isamu to gaze at Hinata's neck, and his eyes widened as he saw a peculiar necklace in the design of a triangle, with an eye in the centre. "As you can see, she is wearing a very peculiar necklace. This necklace is a symbol that she is in an alliance with yours truly. Because of a favour I did for her, I now am friends with her", the demonic being responded with a mirthful chuckle.

"So you are saying that you can give me access to a set of **Byakugan** , without having to worry about that bloody Caged Bird Seal?" Isamu thought this was too good to be true. Cipher giggled gleefully, as with a snap of his fingers; the mirror disappeared.

"Indeed I am, and all I ask for is for you to let me into your mind to learn the truth behind the Hyuuga Affair", Cipher explained while giving an eye-smile.

Thoughts were racing through Isamu's head. What this demon was saying was very accurate. If Isamu was capable of getting his hand on an unmarked Hyuuga Clan member, such as the Hyuuga Princess; the village would most likely welcome him back open arms, perhaps he would even get the position as heir to his family clan back. The former Yotsuki heir couldn't deny the advantages that this deal carried. However, he was not so eager as to simply give away vital information, which in itself was an act of treason.

"While that sounds good and all; I am not going to give away any information, and betray my village", Isamu stated proudly, while looking at Cipher, who was at the moment twirling a black cane he had conjured from nowhere.

"Seems to me like one little piece of information is a small price to gain those coveted white eyes you want", Cipher stated, with his single eye turning white, similarly to a **Byakugan** , for added effect. It then turned back, and Cipher floated over to Isamu. "Besides, as a demon; I hold no loyalty to any village. So I will not give away any information to any of the competing Shinobi villages, thus keeping Kumogakure no Sato safe, even though they arguably don't deserve it." At hearing Cipher's comment, Isamu cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about? Are you against my great village", Isamu growled.

"Well, they kicked you out didn't they?" At Cipher's response, Isamu stopped growling as he looked down on the ground, while Cipher continued speaking. "All you did was playing a strategic move, and make sure that your village still had men capable of defending your village. Instead, they banish you for what – being a reasonable human being? The same thing happened to your clan – nice way of showing that they will never leave family behind. Actually, how come you are still so loyal to the village anyway, considering that, because they banished you; you cannot be prosecuted for treason – so why this stubborn loyalty?"

At his words, Isamu couldn't help but ponder the same question. Truthfully, the disgraced Kumo Shinobi had a grudge against his own village for the exact same reasons that Cipher mentioned. He had made a logical move, and knew that it would not be possible for him to get the **Byakugan** in time, so he made a logical move and left with his life, thus ensuring that the list of casualties during the incident was kept at a minimum. He had never strayed from the village and always kept loyal, and because of his decision; he was trialled for insubordination and subsequently banished. Not even his own clan had stood next to him. He felt cheated and betrayed.

True, he still wanted to go back home, but at the same; Isamu couldn't help feeling bitter at the audacity of his village. At the same time, he was hesitant to betray his village… though the demon did say that he wasn't part of any village, so he couldn't be one of those Jinchuurikis. On that thought, Isamu did ponder if he could also gain the village's favour by informing them of this powerful demon. Perhaps they could subjugate him as well. That way, he could make the deal with this demon, and later on inform the village of how he made an undercover job for the village. It wasn't fool-proof, but it could potentially allow him to get around with giving away a few pieces of information.

"Alright, Cipher-san – you make a good point. I am willing to agree, but only if you promise that you will NOT share this information with anyone else, and that you ONLY look at the information retaining to the Hyuuga Affair", Isamu stated with determination, while pointing at the demon with a sense of authority.

"Very well, I will only look at information surrounding the Hyuuga Affair, and the information will be kept safe with me. In return, you will gain those beloved white eyes", Cipher agreed.

"Then it's a deal", Isamu stated firmly, while holding out his hand. Cipher's held out his hand as well, as it was enveloped in a strange blue fire, which felt somewhat cool when it surrounded Isamu's hand as they shook on their agreement.

"Alright then, I will give you your end of the deal, after I have gotten mine", Cipher stated with a casual tone in his distorted voice, as he suddenly turned somewhat transparent, and suddenly flew straight at Isamu. As soon as Cipher's form seemed to make contact with Isamu; everything went to black to the former Kumo Jounin.

When Isamu woke up, he noticed that the world had now regained its colours, but he didn't see anyone else. For a moment he was wondering if he had been deceived or simply dreamt it all up, when suddenly he saw the form of Cipher fade into existence. The demonic boy, or whatever he was, floated in front of Isamu.

"I have kept to me end of the bargain, now it's your turn to pay up", Isamu stated with a firm tone.

"Indeed, be ready", Cipher stated with a cheerful tone, as he snapped his fingers. Isamu was excited as well and anticipating his just reward. However, soon he would wish that he could change the deal he made.

As he was looking around, looking for the promised Hyuuga, he felt his eyes starting to ache a bit. As he rubbed them, hoping to alleviate the pain; he noticed that they kept aching; in fact, the pain was just getting worse. Then he noticed, to his horror; that his eyesight started to get bleary. Isamu started to panic at what was happening. Soon, everything around was only blurry colours all around him. Then he realised what was happening. The demon backstabbed him! He turned towards the blurry form of Cipher, as he pointed in accusation.

"You dirty bastard – what did you do to me? We had a deal", Isamu shouted at Cipher.

"Yes, we did", Cipher responded casually. "I kept my end of the bargain."

"Like hell you did – I am losing my eyesight", Isamu shouted as his anger grew. "You promised me an unmarked Hyuuga! You promised me the **Byakugan**!"

"And I delivered: I gave you those White Eyes you wanted", Cipher replied with a shrug. "It is weird that you wanted to be blind, but that is your decision I suppose." Isamu understood what he meant. It was a common misconception for those who didn't know about the **Byakugan** to think that the Hyuuga Clan was full of blind people, due to their featureless, white eyes. The demonic brat had tricked him, twisting the truth to fit his own ends.

"You filthy fucker", Isamu screamed. "You will pay for this! Once Kumogakure hears about this, they will make you pay!"

"Oh and why would they? You are a simply a cowardly little wimp who bailed on his comrade. True, it was a reasonable strategy to pull, and you are a reasonable human being. But you are also a Shinobi, and as such – normal human standards don't apply to you", Cipher retorted, causing Isamu to seethe further at the one-eyed demon. "Besides, even if you somehow managed to get to Kumogakure with your lack of eyesight; you would have to inform them of how you became blind in the first place, causing you to be labelled as a traitor, and promptly executed."

"Then I will kill you myself", Isamu screamed. At this point, the only things he saw were a few dark blurs.

"I would like you see you try that. I would really like to see you try", Cipher stated with a mad laughter. Then, Isamu's eyesight was gone, and he could only see darkness.

Isamu's once dark eyes where now white and featureless, as he started cursing and screaming Cipher's name, proclaiming that he or Kumogakure would make the demonic boy suffer. He was in such a rage, that he completely forgot that he was still a banished and disgraced shinobi from Kumogakure. Additionally, he was randomly throwing out jutsus left and right, completely missing Cipher's location. He screamed for several minutes as his throat got completely soar from the shouts of undiluted rage. In fact, in his rage, he did not even hear that Cipher had not left his previous location, nor did he hear the footsteps approaching him. The only thing he heard in the darkness, besides his multiple techniques, was the sound of sharpened blade. This was the last thing Isamu Yotsuki heard in his life.

 **-Meanwhile, with Naruto-**

Naruto Cipher was looking down at the beheaded corpse of Isamu Yotsuki. He had gotten all the information he needed from this cowardly little man, and had disposed of him. The information of the truth regarding the Hyuuga Affair could come into handy sooner or later. Inside his seal, he heard chuckles come from his resident fox.

 **"** **So that is what you are planning, Naruto. You are going to screw some people over, like the cowardly human here, while others will be left untouched, like that little flower of the Hyuuga Clan"** , Kurama stated with a sense of understanding.

"Indeed I am Kurama", Naruto responded. "I have decided to use my powers to help out some individuals, while I will use trickery and deceit to screw over some other people. My mother said that I needed to find a dream and stick to it. Even if this is not going to lead me to it, it will still be an amusing way to spread our influence and practice with our powers."

 **"** **You have decided to become a true demonic dealmaker, but surprisingly with a touch of humanity. That could be interesting and amusing to bear witness to"** , the Kyuubi stated with a chuckle, which caused Naruto to chuckle as well.

"You know, the funny thing is that Isamu actually did get the **Byakugan** ", Naruto stated, causing Kurama to stop chuckling and stared

 **"** **You gave him the actual Byakugan?"** At Naruto's nod, the fox was even more confused. **"Wait, why did you do it?"**

"Because I promised him that he would get those white eyes. He just didn't see the key clue to the trap I laid for him. Besides, I never said anything that I wouldn't give him a pair of blind **Byakugan** eyes", Naruto explained with a simple tone. This caused Kurama to laugh loudly at Naruto's deception.

 **"** **I see your point in all of this. This will indeed be quite amusing"** , the Bijuu stated with a large vulpine grin on its face.

"However, there is also another reason to this, Kurama", Naruto stated with a surprisingly serious tone causing the fox to become quiet. "I may be in possession of an omnipotent power that is practically infinite, if not beyond. Still, I am not an invincible opponent as of yet. I cannot make the same mistake as Bill, and believe that I am invincible. As such, I will use these deals not only as a way to practice my abilities, but also to increase my influence and gain allies."

 **"** **So in case you ever need it, you will have connections you could rely on"** , Kurama continued Naruto's line of thought. **"That is a good plan and all, but how can you be sure that they will stay true to their words?"**

"Sadly, aside from analysing their characters; there is no way I can truly tell for sure. I guess this is where you will play a part in our partnership. If you wouldn't mind, could you keep an eye out for negative emotions?" At Naruto's request, Kurama nodded.

 **"** **I don't think that is unreasonable; I will keep an eye out kit."**

"Thank you, my friend", Naruto said with gratitude in his voice. "Now, we have wasted enough time here." At this, Naruto snapped his fingers, causing Isamu's corpse to incinerate, until it was nothing but a pile of ash on the ground. "Let's go back to the Nightmare Realm. We have various plans to discuss and training to do." Then, Naruto teleported back to the Nightmare Realm, leaving no real trace that he was ever really present.

 _ **-To Be Continued-**_

 _ **And that concludes the second chapter of "The Deal". The third chapter is already in the works, and you will see that one coming up soon enough.**_

 _ **Anyway, please read and review - any feedback is always welcome. Otherwise, I still wish you a lovely day!**_

 _ **See you in the next chapter!**_

 _ **~Prof. Majora**_

 _ **PS. As before, I have another cryptogram prepared for you. Though I should warn you that I made it a little trickier this time. Hopefully, you will find the key to solve this puzzle. I have faith in you!**_ ** _Good luck solving it :)_**

 **POM AEVCQ OEST AEZC EL HLILX WGB EATJXVW, YX EKZB GMRC.**


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